text:
Real Myst: FAQ/Walkthrough by 3791
Version: 2.22 | Updated: 2007-03-17 | Original File
## ###### ##### ### ### ##### # ######### ## ## ### ## ## # # ## ## # ### # ## ## ### ## ## # # ### # # ### # ## ### #### ##### ## ## ### ## ## # # ### ### ### # # # # ## ## ## ### ## ## ## ### ### ## ###### # ## ## ## ### ## ## ## # ### ### ## # # ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ### ## #### #### # ## #### #### #### #### # ##### ##### S O L U T I O N S AUTHOR: 3791 EMAIL: email@example.com VERSION: 2.22 LATEST UPDATE: 03/17/2007 Added more detail on using the combination in Atrus's journal with the imager on Rime, incorporated a tip from Cassie on setting the sliders in the spaceship, and changed the copyright info to put the guide under a Creative Commons license. =============================================================================== Mini Creative Commons Notice =============================================================================== This guide is released under a Creative Commons license. The Creative Commons deed can be viewed here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ In a nutshell, YOU CAN: copy, distribute, print, upload to your website, or do whatever else you want with this guide SO LONG AS: you credit me as the author, you don't sell the guide or use it to make money, and you don't change anything in the guide. You can find a few more details in the Creative Commons Info section at the end of the guide. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | CONTENTS | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| I. INTRODUCTION II. GENERAL STRATEGIES III. HINTS A. Myst Island B. Mechanical Age C. Selenitic Age D. Stoneship Age E. Channelwood Age F. Finishing Up G. Rime Age IV. WALKTHROUGH A. Myst Island 1. The Myst Book 2. Atrus's Note 3. Marker Switch Hunting 4. The Library 5. The Tower B. Mechanical Age 1. Accessing Mechanical Age 2. The Luxurious Room 3. The Violent Room 4. Fortress Rotation 5. The Pedestal Combination 6. Sirrus and Achenar C. Selenitic Age 1. Accessing Selenitic Age 2. Five Sounds 3. The Radio Tower 4. Underground Tunnels 5. Sirrus and Achenar D. Stoneship Age 1. Accessing Stoneship Age 2. Let There Be Light 3. The Brothers' Bedrooms 4. The Compass 5. Sirrus and Achenar E. Channelwood Age 1. Accessing Channelwood Age 2. Channelwood Plumbing 3. Huts in the Trees 4. The Top of the Forest 5. Leaving Channelwood F. Finishing Up 1. Marker Switch Vault 2. The Fifth Page 3. The Fireplace 4. The Green Book 5. D'ni G. Rime Age 1. Rime Age Journal 2. Accessing Rime Age 3. Brrrrrrrrr! 4. Aurora Controls 5. Atrus's Journal 6. Glimpses of Ages V. SOLUTIONS A. Myst Island B. Mechanical Age C. Selenitic Age D. Stoneship Age E. Channelwood Age F. Finishing Up G. Rime Age H. Mistakes VI. NECESSARY ODDS AND ENDS A. Creative Commons Info B. Credits C. Contact Info D. Version History To jump to a specific section of the guide, use the outline levels that appear in brackets to get there quickly. For Windows users, go to Edit|Find (or type Ctrl+F), type in the outline level in brackets (including the brackets), and hit the Find button and you will jump straight to that section. For example, to jump to the hints section for Stoneship Age, type [III.D] into the Find box. _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | I. INTRODUCTION [I] | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| Welcome to this strategy guide for realMyst, and if this is your first Myst game, welcome to the world of Myst. Since originally released in 1993 by Cyan, Myst has become the best-selling PC game ever. What you are about to experience is not your typical computer game: there are no lives, enemies, or levels, and barely any items. Instead there is simply a world, and you simply explore it. Don't worry, it's not nearly as boring as it sounds; in fact, it's exciting. There are three versions of Myst that have been released from 1993 to 2000: o Myst (1993) o Myst Masterpiece Edition (1999) o realMyst (2000) This guide is written for realMyst, but all three versions are basically the same game, and the strategies in this guide will apply equally well to all three. The only exceptions are the Rime Age, which appears only in realMyst, and the controls, which are different for realMyst than for the original Myst or Myst Masterpiece. Myst was the original game, which featured superb graphics for its day and was one of the first computer games to be available exclusively on CD-ROM. Myst Masterpiece Edition is mostly the same as the original Myst, but features slightly improved graphics and sound as well as a hint system. realMyst is very different from the other two: instead of consisting of a series of prerendered images, realMyst is in realtime 3D. In addition to being able to go wherever you want, not restricted to preset paths, realMyst features changing time of day, weather, and additional animal life. Again, no matter which version you have, the gameplay in all three is the same, with the exception of Rime Age, which is only available in realMyst. Now, about this guide. The fun of Myst is in solving its puzzles, so a strategy guide like this could completely spoil the game. To prevent this, I have followed the lead of many other Myst series guides and divided the guide into sections, each of which will provide various levels of help so you can have just as much or little spoiled as you want. Here is a brief description of each section: I. INTRODUCTION Ummm... what you're reading right now. This lists the different versions of Myst available and summarizes each section of the guide. II. GENERAL STRATEGIES Take a wild guess... this section contains some, you're right, general strategies for playing Myst. None of these will spoil the game in any way, they're just tips on how to best succeed at Myst. III. HINTS This is the section for you if you just want a gentle nudge, or just want to see if you're headed in the right direction. For each puzzle, a series of hints progressing from general to specific will be presented. The hints will not, however, give you the answer outright. IV. WALKTHROUGH This section makes up the bulk of the guide, and goes through the game step-by-step. Note that there is no specific order in which to play Myst, so the order presented in the walkthrough is not the only correct one. The walkthrough will guide you through the rationale behind a puzzle and will eventually give you the answer, so beware. The walkthrough is especially useful for seeing the logic behind puzzle solutions and how things in the game relate to the story. V. PUZZLE SOLUTIONS As you might suspect, this section gives away point-blank the solutions to all the puzzles in the game. Don't use this section at all unless you are completely fed up with trying to figure it out for yourself and just want the answer right now. VI. NECESSARY ODDS AND ENDS Copyright notice, credits, contact info, and version history. I hope that gives you an idea of what's in here, and where to go to find what you're looking for. A word of explanation: in the strategy portions of the game (sections IV, V, and VI), the strategies will be presented as if you are actually on Myst. That's because the best way to play Myst is to act like you're really on Myst. So, don't expect to see "Click on so-and-so." It'll be more like, "Touch so-and-so" or "Open so-and-so." OK, on to actual game information. _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | II. GENERAL STRATEGIES [II] | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| These are just some ideas to keep in mind as you play Myst that will help you to do better. This section does not give away the solutions to any specific puzzles, it just gives you some strategies for how to solve puzzles in general when you encounter them. Here, arranged in no particular order, are some general strategies for playing Myst. o THINK LIKE YOU'RE REALLY THERE. By far the biggest strategy for succeeding in all the Myst games. Cyan spent a long time creating a detailed, realistic world, so do them a favor and treat it like one. When you see a building or a piece of machinery, don't think in terms of, "Here's a puzzle I have to get past to beat the level," think in terms of, "What is this thing? Why is it here? How could it work? Why is this important to me?" Try to get out of the mindset of thinking of Myst as a video game and start thinking of it as a real place, and you'll do a lot better. o DON'T GUESS. You will never, ever in Myst have to guess the solution to a puzzle. If you find yourself resorting to trial and error or brute force, you're not doing it right; you're missing a clue. o THINK LOGICALLY. This ties in to the first strategy, to think like you're really there. This is especially important to understanding the story of Myst. If you learn something new, stop and think about how this affects other things you already know. What does it add? Does it change what you thought previously? Can you deduce anything else from this? You will never have to think, "Well, it must be this way because it's a video game." Remember, it's not a video game; YOU'RE REALLY THERE. o EXPLORE EVERYWHERE. This might sound obvious, but it's in your best interests to try to peer into every nook and cranny. This will probably lead to many times when you want to go somewhere, but can't, but sometimes you will uncover an important clue just by poking around everywhere you can. Along the same lines, don't forget to look up and down, not just side-to-side. You never know what clues could be above your head or below your feet. o PAY ATTENTION. Another redundant-sounding one, but there are a number of hidden passages and secret rooms you will have to uncover, and you'll have to keep your eyes peeled to find them. It should be noted that you will never have to go "pixel-hunting" in Myst, but be sure to pay attention to things you might otherwise overlook. Along these same lines, sound is just as important in Myst as sight. Never play Myst with the sound off, because several puzzles rely heavily on audio clues. o MAKE MAPS. This is not as important in Myst as it is in other games, but there are several places where it's important to know where things are in relation to each other, and a map can help to reveal those relationships. o TAKE NOTES. When you encounter a puzzle, write down any ideas you have about how to solve it immediately, because you will very likely forget it. When you discover a new building or location, write down what your impressions of what it is and what it's for. Doing so will help you form a clearer picture of how everything connects, instead of just a series of disconnected objects. Writing things down is especially important if there will be significant gaps between when you play, because you will forget a lot and will have to re-figure everything out if you don't write it down the first time. Basically, anytime you find something you think has a chance of being important, write it down! o SAVE. Especially with realMyst, a RAM-hogging game that can easily freeze if your system requirements are subpar or borderline. It would really stink to make a lot of progress, then have the game freeze or someone knock the power cord out. So, save often, especially before entering a new area or making a major decision. o THINK LIKE YOU'RE REALLY THERE. Yes, it's really that important. _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | III. HINTS [III] | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| This section is designed for those who have run up against a puzzle and are stuck, but still want to figure it out for themselves. This section is divided into subsections for each major stage of your journey, and each puzzle in that stage will be presented as a question. Following the question will be a number of statements, questions, or suggestions designed to get you headed in the right direction. They do get more specific as they go down, so read them one at a time, and only as far down as you need. The last hint will usually bring you right up to the answer, leaving only a tiny connection left to be made, and will also serve as a bridge to the next topic, giving you a suggestion of what to do next. Once you've gotten a hint, go back and try the puzzle again. If you're still stumped, go a little further down the list or check the walkthrough or solution sections of this guide. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | A. MYST ISLAND [III.A] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: WHAT'S WITH THAT BOOK LYING THERE? =============================================================================== A: Why don't you find out? This is no ordinary book. Try touching the picture. =============================================================================== Q: WHERE AM I? WHAT'S GOING ON? =============================================================================== A: Well, you're on the island you saw in the book. You appeared here after you touched the picture in the book. It seems that the book transported you to this place. As for what this place is exactly, why don't you look around a little bit? =============================================================================== Q: WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH ATRUS'S NOTE? =============================================================================== A: If you haven't found the note, look on the ground next to the log path near the domed building. What does the note tell you about who lives here? Apparently Atrus and Catherine do. Do you think they could have anything to do with the book that brought you here? Perhaps they can help you understand what's happened to you and how to get back home. In that case, you'd probably want to find them. Where could you learn where to find them, or at least learn more about them? The note mentions a message. You should try to find Atrus's message. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT'S A MARKER SWITCH? =============================================================================== A: The reason you need the Marker Switches is to access the message in the fore-chamber. Where might be a good place to go to find out what a Marker Switch is? Perhaps the fore-chamber? The note says it's beside the dock. The entrance is slightly hidden. There's a door set in the wall to your left as you stand at the spot you arrived at. There's more here than a pool of water. Try pushing the button on the pool. That wasn't real water. Could there be other things the pool/imager could show? There'd have to be some way to tell the imager what to display. Can you find a list of different things the imager displays? Oh well, you'll have to turn around and head back up the stairs. Now that you've found the list, does one of the things on it look like it could answer your question? Now you just need a place to enter that code. Examine the panel carefully. Including the corners. =============================================================================== Q: HOW MANY MARKER SWITCHES ARE THERE? =============================================================================== A: Just take a walk around and count them. Notice the note doesn't say how many Marker Switches you can reach, it says how many there are. There may be Marker Switches that you can't reach right now. There is one Marker Switch you can only see, but can't directly reach. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I ACCESS ATRUS'S MESSAGE? =============================================================================== A: Where does the note say it's at? If you need help finding the fore-chamber or inputting the code, see the "What's a Marker Switch?" question above. What code should you enter? What were you counting Marker Switches for? The code is the number of Marker Switches. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT DOES ATRUS'S MESSAGE MEAN? =============================================================================== A: Is everything OK with Atrus? What can you learn about Atrus's family? Atrus and Catherine are married with two sons. Can you catch their names? Something bad has happened to Atrus. His books have been destroyed. You came here "through" a book, apparently. Could Atrus have written the book you found? He certainly has access to technology far beyond yours. Could the books that were destroyed be that same kind of book? Maybe you should go see what's happened to his books. Where are books usually kept? Is there any place here that could be a library? You should go investigate the library and see what happened to Atrus's books. Atrus said he was about to leave. Do you think Atrus is on Myst now? Have you seen any evidence that anyone else is on Myst right now? What about Catherine and Atrus's sons? It appears you're on your own right now. It looks like if you want to find Atrus and Catherine, you're going to have to find out what's happened to them. You should head to the library. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT SHOULD I DO IN THE LIBRARY? =============================================================================== A: What do you normally do in a library? Read books. Why don't you check out the bookshelf. Atrus wasn't kidding about what happened to his books. Remember what he said: "most of my books have been destroyed." Key word "most." There are still a few readable books on the shelf. Six in all. Pay attention to anything in the journals that might relate to what Atrus does. Can you find references to "the Art," "linking," and "Books" with a capital B? Does any of this sound familiar to what happened to you? Atrus writes Books like the one you found, Books that can transport, or "link," people to other worlds. Are there any other books in the library, besides the ones on the shelf? =============================================================================== Q: WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE RED AND BLUE BOOKS? =============================================================================== A: Are these normal books? These are Linking Books, like the one that brought you to Myst. Are they working? Is there anything nearby that could help to fix them? It would make sense that the Book would need all of its pages to work. What can you see after you put the page in the Book? Maybe this isn't a normal Linking Book after all. The person appears to be trapped inside the Book. Who is the person in the Book? Can you recognize their name? Atrus's sons are in the books. Sirrus is in the Red Book and Achenar is in the Blue Book. What are they asking for? Do you see any more? Why should you even want to bring more anyway? Does it look like there's anyone else around who can help you figure out what happened? Sirrus and Achenar are your only sources of information. By bringing more pages, maybe you'll be able to learn more. =============================================================================== Q: OK, I'VE READ THE JOURNALS AND FOUND THE RED AND BLUE BOOKS. NOW WHAT? =============================================================================== A: You need to find more red and blue pages so you can figure out from Sirrus and Achenar what has happened here. Do you think there are any more pages on Myst? Where else could there be pages? Remember, Atrus wrote Linking Books. You need to find a way to reach some of the Ages Atrus wrote. How would you reach these Ages? The same way you reached Myst: Linking Books. Where could these Linking Books be? You've heard something about this already. Try listening to Atrus's message again. "Well, I've removed the remaining undamaged Books from the library and placed them in their places of protection. You shouldn't have to use the Books until I return, but... if you've forgotten the access keys, remember the tower rotation." What does Atrus say could help you find the remaining Books? Maybe you should examine the rest of the library. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DOES THE MAP WORK? =============================================================================== A: Does any spot on the map stand out? Is there anything on it you can grab or push? Try the circle behind the library. The line turns red at four different points. What is this doing? The map tells you flat-out. If it's not turning red at four points for you, what is there in common between the different locations shown on the map? The various structures on the map are lit up. It would require some sort of power source to do that. The various structures could have to be *switched* on to *mark* their spot on the map. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE TOWER? =============================================================================== A: Pay attention to everything. Even seemingly unimportant details can be important. Have you examined everything in the library? Myst has a sort of artistic quality to it, don't you think? It's really *picture*-esque. Maybe the paintings in the library can help you. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT DO I DO WITH THE INFORMATION IN THE TOWER? =============================================================================== A: If you can't find anything in the tower, go play with the map. "Well, I've removed the remaining undamaged Books from the library and placed them in their places of protection. You shouldn't have to use the Books until I return, but... if you've forgotten the access keys, remember the tower rotation." Why do you think one ladder has the image of a book on it? Atrus has placed Linking Books in the places of protection. The keys to unlocking the Books can be found using the tower rotation. The places of protection are guarded by access keys, which can be found using the tower rotation. You have now used the tower rotation. So what could be the significance of the location you can see from the book ladder? What, then, does this mean the key ladder is for? "...if you've forgotten the access *keys*..." The location you can see from the the book ladder is a place of protection. The information you can reach from the key ladder is connected to that place. The information at the top of the key ladder is the access key for one of the places of protection. Now you just have to figure out how to use it. =============================================================================== Q: WHICH AGE SHOULD I VISIT FIRST? =============================================================================== A: It doesn't matter. Whichever you want. If you still can't make up your mind, use this order (it's the one used in the walkthrough): 1. Mechanical 2. Selenitic 3. Stoneship 4. Channelwood =============================================================================== Q: WHAT EXACTLY AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING? =============================================================================== A: Well, you probably don't want to stay on Myst forever. You probably want to go home. However, you don't know how to do that. You're going to have to find someone who can help you, like Atrus, perhaps. Atrus doesn't seem to be around, though. His sons, however, are. They are the only people on this island, even if they are trapped in their Books. Since they're the only ones here, you should try to get as much information out of them as possible. And the only way to get them to talk seems to be to bring them pages for their Books. And you've found all the pages you can on Myst. That means they must be in other places. As in other Ages. You are trying to find red and blue pages for Sirrus and Achenar, so that you can learn about what happened here and if there is any possibility of you getting back home. The pages have been scattered across the four remaining Ages. Therefore, you need to explore the Ages, searching for the pages. =============================================================================== Q: SHOULD I TAKE THE RED OR BLUE PAGES? =============================================================================== A: Approximately how many pages do you think it would take to free Sirrus or Achenar? Probably more than one. It's going to take several pages before the brothers can be freed. Reporters are trained to cover both sides of the story. Basically, you have become an investigative reporter. Sirrus and Achenar are your two biggest sources. Since it's going to take a number of pages to free any of them, you should try to get as much information of possible. And cover *both* sides of the story. Since it takes several pages to free one of the brothers, there's no rush to make a decision immediately. The best course of action is to recover both red and blue pages. This will allow you to hear both Sirrus's and Achenar's perspectives, which will give you a clearer sense of the big picture. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | B. MECHANICAL AGE [III.B] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE MECHANICAL AGE? =============================================================================== A: The access key has two parts. What does the first part seem to be referring to? Don't worry, think about it for as long as you need. There's no *time* limit. Once you've gotten that part taken care of, it should be obvious what you need to do with the second part. Play around with the levers. Figure out what each one does. By the way, they can do more than one thing. Try holding them down. Pulling the left lever rotates the middle and bottom gears. Pulling the right lever rotates the top and middle gears. Holding either lever down will continue to rotate the middle gear until the lever is released. You need to rotate the gears so that the access key is displayed. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT'S THE COMBINATION FOR THE PEDESTAL NEAR THE START? =============================================================================== A: Maybe you should try exploring the Age and you'll find it. The whole Age. You won't find this combination until near the end of your explorations of this Age. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE LUXURIOUS ROOM? =============================================================================== A: If you've already been to the Stoneship or Channelwood Ages, then you shouldn't have this question. If not, then yes. You'll have to learn to look past all the trinkets and decorations. The toys and displays in the room are not important, but something else is. Something in the wall. There's a secret door in this room. Maybe you should sit down and look for it. Look near the throne. Behind the tapestry. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT SHOULD I LEARN FROM THE SECRET CACHE IN THE LUXURIOUS ROOM? =============================================================================== A: Think about what is in the room, and why it might be there. Have you found the note stuck in the winerack? Have you found the red page? Who is in the Red Book? What an interesting coincidence: a note to Sirrus and a red page in the same room. What does that tell you about who used this room? What does the nature of the room tell you about the personality of that person? Not to mention that note: "greed," "desire for wealth," "new tax," "my subjects"? From the note and red page in the secret cache, you can deduce that this room was used by Sirrus. If so, then he certainly had plenty of money, and Achenar at least thought he was pretty greedy. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE CREEPY ROOM? =============================================================================== A: If you've already been to the Stoneship or Channelwood Ages, then you shouldn't have this question. If not, then yes. Besides the holographic device. You'll have to learn to look past all the trinkets and decorations. The weapons in the room are not important, but something else is. Something in the wall. There's a secret door in this room. Maybe you should sit down and look for it. Look near the throne. Next to the holographic device. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT SHOULD I LEARN FROM THE SECRET CACHE IN THE CREEPY ROOM? =============================================================================== A: What kind of person keeps this kind of stuff? Whoever used this room was twisted. Have you found the blue page on the shelf? Who is in the Blue Book? When you saw Achenar in the Blue Book, did he seem normal? He acted like he had a few screws loose. Does the fact that the blue page is here tell you anything about who used this room? What does the nature of the room tell you about this person? From the fact that the blue page is here and Achenar's unstable behavior, you can deduce that this room was used by Achenar. If so, then he is seriously disturbed. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET IN THE ELEVATOR? =============================================================================== A: Take a couple steps back. Sometimes puzzles can be frustrating; they can really "push your buttons." Look for a red button next to the hallway leading to the elevator. Once you've lowered the floor, where are you in relation to the elevator? What do you think the two rings represent? One opening is facing towards you, another is facing away... where do you think the inner ring should be facing? If all else fails, just hold down the lever and see if any spot seems to stand out. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING ON THE TOP LEVEL OF THE FORTRESS? and WHY DOES THE ELEVATOR STOP BETWEEN FLOORS? =============================================================================== A: Pay attention to details. Take a closer look at the elevator. There's an arrow above the elevator door. Can you see anything up there? How can you reach it? Note that the elevator pauses about five seconds before lowering from the top level to in between levels. Can you use this to get at whatever's on top of the elevator? Think about it: there's something on top of the elevator. The elevator can lower partway. The elevator pauses before lowering partway. There's no reason you have to just stand there while the button beeps. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT IS THE DEVICE ON TOP OF THE ELEVATOR? =============================================================================== A: Does it look familiar? If not, you obviously didn't pay close enough attention in the creepy room. That device was the "Fortress Rotation *Simulator*". Do you think the device on the top level is a simulator? =============================================================================== Q: AAAUUUGGHH!!! THE FORTRESS ROTATOR IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! =============================================================================== A: You don't have to figure everything out using this particular device. Do you learn to ride a bicycle without first using training wheels? There is a training device in the fortress. It's in the creepy room. You need to learn which sounds correspond with each direction and how long it takes the fortress to rotate to a new direction. Just keep at it. Practice makes perfect. At the very least, you'll get it eventually by dumb luck. Once you've rotated the fortress, you'll probably want to see what you've rotated it to. Obviously, you'll have to exit the fortress to see this. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | C. SELENITIC AGE [III.C] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE SELENITIC AGE? =============================================================================== A: Assuming you understand how the map and tower rotation works, the Selenitic Age corresponds to the rocket. It doesn't look like there's anyplace for you to use the access key around the rocket itself. However, it might be more applicable to some sort of electric power source. Can you see anything that appears to be capable of supplying electricity to the rocket? There's a cable leading into the rocket. See where it leads. Now that you're in the generator room, it should be fairly clear what you need to do with the access key. Be careful; this is a delicate electrical system. You wouldn't want to overload it. If you do, you'll blow a fuse. There's got to be somewhere where you can reset the breaker switch. Leave the generator room and follow the cable. There's a brick pillar next to the generator room. Climb it and flip the switch to reset the circuit. Once inside the rocket, there's still one last puzzle. What seems to be the relationship between the sliders and the organ? One is the actual lock and another simply serves as a reference. Which is which? Have you kept up on your reading? You might find a clue. Atrus left lots of helpful information in his journals. In the Selenitic journal you'll find a diagram showing which notes to play. Even once you know what to do, this can be tricky. Try holding down the note on the organ, then humming that note while you walk over to the sliders and find it. Or you can how far each key is from the bottom of the keyboard, then move the corresponding slider that many notches up from the bottom. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE DOOR NEAR THE ROCKET? =============================================================================== A: You'll need the combination. Try exploring the Age. You'll find the combination later. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT DO THE BUTTONS ON THE TOWERS WITH THE RADIO DISHES DO? =============================================================================== A: Dishes of this type usually transmit signals. What kind of data could these dishes be transmitting? Look at the black device that is attached to the pillar the dish is on. It appears to be located near the source of a sound. It's a microphone. So, what do you think the dish is transmitting? When you push the button, the icon lights up. It looks like you turned something on. Pressing the button causes the dish to transmit the sound being picked up by the microphone. See if you can discover where the signals are being broadcast to. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DOES THE RADIO TOWER WORK? =============================================================================== A: Try to make some sense of all the buttons first. The arrow buttons rotate the camera, and the angle is displayed. Also, by pressing the five icon buttons, you can set each one to a different angle. What's up on top of the tower? What are you rotating? The tower contains five dishes. By selecting an icon button, you can then rotate the dish assigned to that particular icon. If each dish is assigned to a particular icon, is there any special place you might want to rotate those dishes to? Remember, each location has a dish that is transmitting a signal. You want to rotate each dish so that it is pointing towards the location where its signal is being broadcast from. You'll get help when you get within 5 degrees of the exact location. You'll know when you find the exact spot. Now try the sigma button. If you don't have all five dishes aligned, it probably won't make much sense. Once you do have all the dishes aligned, what could be the point of shifting between the five locations in a seemingly random order? Note that you can hear each sound for a second. Is there anywhere where a sequence of five sounds could be important? Near the rocket? The sequence of sounds is the combination for the door near the rocket. =============================================================================== Q: HELP! I'M HOPELESSLY LOST IN THE UNDERGROUND MAZE! =============================================================================== A: If you're really hopelessly lost, then backtrack to the start and try again. Don't choose directions randomly. You don't have to guess or use process of elimination. Do you think that little sound that plays at the intersections is just for fun? If you've already visited the Mechanical Age, those sounds should be familiar. If not, you'll have to figure out what they mean. You have two sources of information in front of you: a speaker and a compass. Could they be related? They are. The sound played by the speaker tells you which way you should go. At the first junction, the only direction you can go is north and the speaker will play a "dink" sound. The "dink" sound corresponds to north. At the next junction, you can go south (which is backwards) or west, and the sound is "skree". Obviously, backwards is not the correct direction. So what sound corresponds to west? Hopefully by now you get the idea. If no sound plays, you went the wrong way and need to backtrack. If two sounds play simultaneously, this indicates the secondary direction (NE, SW, etc.) formed by combining the directions indicated by the two sounds. You can press the button on the speaker to hear the sound again. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | D. STONESHIP AGE [III.D] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE STONESHIP AGE? =============================================================================== A: Assuming you understand how the map and tower work, the place of protection for the Stoneship Age is the sunken ship. The access key consists of three specific dates and times spanning almost 9,000 years. Where could this be useful? It's been said that the *stars* can bring inspiration. Have you explored the planetarium? It's the domed building next to the library. Now you should see where to input the three dates. If you can't see anything helpful, remember that this is a *planetarium.* Have you ever been in a planetarium that had the lights on? You'll need to turn off the lights in order to see anything. So, now you've got three star patterns. Have you seen anything like this before? Have you been keeping up with your reading? In the *Stoneship Age journal*, Atrus mentions spending time observing the stars. Look in the back of the Stoneship journal. Now, there's one final step. Again, do you recognize any of the shapes? Have you looked at any of the pillars flanking the basin outside the library? green = on, red = off =============================================================================== Q: WHAT DO THE BUTTONS UNDERNEATH THE UMBRELLA DO? =============================================================================== A: They definitely don't change anything that's visible from the buttons themselves. Remember that this Age consists largely of water. In fact, if you walk around, you'll find that many areas are flooded. It sure would be nice if you could *drain the water* from those areas. Press one button, then revisit all the flooded areas. See if anything has changed. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE TOP OF THE LIGHTHOUSE? =============================================================================== A: Many times, you have to take the long way round to get where you want to go. Notice that there's also a staircase leading down. If only you could drain that water... See previous question. Once you reach the bottom of the lighthouse, notice that this chest is somewhat unusual. Not all chests have spigots on their sides. Hmmm... the chest was full of water. Now that it's empty, does this give you an idea of how to unlock it? There's a key bolted to the floor of the lighthouse at the top of the stairs. Is there any way you could get the chest up there? Things that are full of water usually don't float. Empty, wooden objects, however... By reflooding the lighthouse, you can cause the chest to float up to the floor. Of course, the chest would have to be airtight. Otherwise it'd just fill back up with water again. Once you get the chest up, everything should fit together like a lock and key. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET DOWN THE TWO TUNNELS? =============================================================================== A: The first step is obviously to drain the water. See "What do the buttons underneath the umbrella do?". Now, it's just too dark. You need some source of light. Are there any signs of where the power for that light might come from? There are power cables running into the rock just above each tunnel. Where do they lead? The power source for the tunnel lights is in the lighthouse. In the top of the lighthouse. See the previous question for help getting there. Once you reach the top of the lighthouse, it should be fairly clear how to generate some power. Note, though, that batteries don't stay charged forever. Use the generator to create power for the lights. However, the lights will only stay powered for a limited time. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE LUXURIOUS BEDROOM? =============================================================================== A: If you've already been to the Mechanical or Channelwood Ages, you shouldn't have this question. If not, then, the answer is yes. Don't worry, no one will get mad if you go through this person's cabinets and drawers. Look through the drawers. Oh, a red page! Why would a red page be in this particular room? Could that say something about who owns this room? If so, then what does this room say about that person's character? =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE CREEPY BEDROOM? =============================================================================== A: If you've already been to the Mechanical or Channelwood Ages, you shouldn't have this question. If not, then, the answer is yes. Besides the blue page on the bed. Don't worry, no one will get mad if you go through this person's cabinets and drawers. (If you can stand it, that is.) Look through the drawers. Hmmm... half of a note. This seems important. You'd better copy it down so you can reconstruct the message when you find the other half. Regarding the blue page, why would the blue page be in this particular room? What could that say about the person who owns this room? Then, what does this room say about that person's character (or mental state)? =============================================================================== Q: IS THE TELESCOPE IMPORTANT? =============================================================================== A: Almost everything you find is important in some way or another. Yes, it's important. The telescope is marked off with degrees. Could that be useful in any way? If you haven't found anything where degrees or direction would be important, then look out for one. =============================================================================== Q: I'VE GONE EVERYWHERE I CAN; HOW DO I GET OUT OF HERE? and IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE CABIN? =============================================================================== A: One of the most important things in your adventure is to pay attention to details. Especially details such as small changes in a repeating pattern, one that would be easy to overlook. There's a secret passage somewhere. Not in the cabin. Not in the lighthouse. Not on the telescope path. Not in the bedrooms, but you're getting warmer. Pay attention to details that you might normally just run by. Such as in the passages leading to the bedrooms. Look for a wall panel that stands out. There's a wall panel marked with a red square. Press it to reveal a secret passage connecting the two tunnels. =============================================================================== Q: WHICH BUTTON DO I PRESS ON THE COMPASS? =============================================================================== A: As you'll no doubt discover, pressing the wrong button is not good. Pressing the wrong button will cause the power to go out, like you blew a fuse or something. Apparently whatever the compass does requires a great deal of power. But as for your actual question, a compass tells you what direction you're facing. Directions... ...which can be measured in degrees. Found any place that could indicate degrees? That's right, this is what the telescope is for. Now, as to what direction is the right one, scan around with the telescope. Anything stand out? If only there was an object that just seemed to point you to the correct angle. Like a *beacon*... Maybe there's some way you can shed some *light* on this situation. The light on the lighthouse indicates the correct angle. Now you'll have to do a little math to determine the correct button. Due north equals 0 degrees, east is 90, south is 180, west is 270. 45 degrees would fall exactly between north and east, i.e. northeast. This should be enough fo you to figure out which button to push. You'll know you got it right when the lights don't go out. In fact, the exact opposite will happen. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DOES THE SUBMERSIBLE LAMP HELP ANYTHING? =============================================================================== A: Is there any place you still haven't been able to explore? Any place that was still dark, and that wasn't powered by the lighthouse? Any place underwater, with windows? Where it could be lit by the submersible lamp? Try looking in the ship's cabin. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | E. CHANNELWOOD AGE [III.E] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE CHANNELWOOD AGE? =============================================================================== A: Assuming you know how the map and tower work, the place of protection for Channelwood Age is the giant tree. The access key consists of three numbers. Is there anyplace where a three number code of some sort would be useful? Somewhere near the tree? Like in the log cabin? Once you've opened the safe, you shouldn't have to look far to see where you can use the matches. Look at the large metal cylinder in the cabin next to the wheel. What do you think it is? It consists of a tank, which could hold some sort of fuel, and a P.S.I. meter. It's a gas furnace. It's obviously not on. You want to light the furnace, don't you? Well, go get a match and light it. The pilot light is the square opening at the base of the tank. Nothing's happening. There must not be any gas in the furnace. Is there anything that could remedy this situation? Try turning the wheel next to the furnace. What was that noise? It sounded like it came from outside? It's coming from the tree. The tree is an elevator! Now you just have to get in it. You need to get the elevator "car" to come back down. How could you do that? Burning the gas provided the pressure needed to raise the elevator, so how could you release that pressure? Maybe by letting the gas out of the furnace? You'll have to hurry; the elevator won't stop to wait for you! If you miss it, just let more gas in to send it up again, then release it and try to jump inside. Let it go way up so you'll have plenty of time to be there when it comes down. =============================================================================== Q: WHERE SHOULD I GO? IT'S A MAZE! =============================================================================== A: Don't panic; think this through. Since you appear to be in the midst of a maze of branching and intersecting walkways, maybe you should head towards a landmark of some sort. Can you see anything that might be a good spot to make for? How about the windmill? As you make your way there, though, keep an eye out for elevators and other items of interest. Not to mention those water pipes that follow all the walkways. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT DO I NEED TO DO IN THE WINDMILL? =============================================================================== A: As you made your way to the windmill, was there anything else along the path? Something along the walkway? Like pipes? All the water pipes merge into one at the windmill, and the pipe runs into a hose that follows the path up the island into the windmill. Take a look around in the windmill. Try and make sense of what you see. The point of a windmill is to generate power. What is the power being used for? It's used to draw water up from the ocean. From the ocean, where does the water go? There's a big tank in the windmill, with a steady stream of water pouring into it. And from there? Where does the hose that connects to the pipes go? Into the water storage tank. But the pipes didn't have any water in them. The water is not getting from the tank into the hose. Is there some way you could let the water into the hose? Look at where the hose connects to the tank. There's a faucet. Turn it to allow water to flow into the hose, and from there into the pipes. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE WATER IN THE PIPES? =============================================================================== A: The water has got to have a practical, useful purpose. Keep an eye out for any interesting objects. Especially those that could be powered using the water. Can you find an elevator? It doesn't work, which means it's not powered. What could be its power source? There's a generator next to the elevator, with a water pipe leading into it. The water can be used to power the generator, which will operate the elevator. The water won't go to the generator automatically. You'll have to use the junctions to direct the water to the generator. Use the bar to block off a direction. The water will flow in the direction of the line that is not blocked by the bar. =============================================================================== Q: I'M LOST IN THE HUTS! IT'S AN EVEN WORSE MAZE THAN ON THE SURFACE! =============================================================================== A: Calm down. Again, look for a landmark. Unfortunately, this landmark doesn't stand out as much as the *windmill* did. However, you can still head towards the windmill. Try to move as close to the windmill as you can. You're looking for a platform with an elevator, but no generator, on it, as well as a gate blocking the top of a staircase. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I POWER THE ELEVATOR ON THE PLATFORM? =============================================================================== A: That elevator sure looks tempting. Does it go up or back down? Note that there's a solid floor beneath it, so down doesn't appear to be an option. But this elevator doesn't have any power, either. Here you can see the top of a spiral staircase. Did you see the bottom of this staircase on the ground level? It is very close to the windmill. There's something else next to the base of the staircase, too. It should *generate* some thought once you remember or find out what it is. There's a generator on the ground level next to the staircase. Directly beneath the elevator on the platform. If you direct the water to the generator at the base of the stairs, the elevator on the platform will be powered. But if you do that, then you can't get back up to the second level to use the elevator. You need to find a way to travel between the first and second levels without using water power. What could that method be. The stairs. But the staircase is blocked by locked gates at the top and the bottom. This one is tricky. Hopefully you paid careful attention to your reading. There's a map in Atrus's Channelwood journal that you may find illuminating. Can you find the platform with the stairs and the elevator on it on the map? Can you find anything that might be a clue? It's tough to connect the *dots* for this puzzle. On the map, there's a dashed line connecting the stairs and one of the huts. You need to go to that hut. Once you reach the hut, you'll still need to keep your eyes peeled to find what you're looking for. This hut sure does have a great view of the platform. There's a switch in the hut that will raise the gate at the top of the stairs. It should now be a simple matter to use the stairs to go to the ground level, direct the water to the generator, then climb back up the stairs and use the elevator. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE LUXURIOUS BEDROOM? =============================================================================== A: If you've already been to the Mechanical or Stoneship Ages, you shouldn't have this question. If not, then, the answer is yes. Don't worry, no one will get mad if you go through this person's cabinets and drawers. Look through the desk underneath the window. Oh, a red page! Why would a red page be in this particular room? Could that say something about who owns this room? If so, then what does this room say about that person's character? There's more to be discovered in this room. Try looking in the drawers underneath the bed. Hmmm... half of a note. This seems important. You'd better copy it down so you can reconstruct the message when you find the other half. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT'S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE AND THE BARS? =============================================================================== A: Who do you think the temple belonged to? What does this say about that person's character? This will be easier if you've already visited the Mechanical or Stoneship Ages, or the other rooms on the third floor of this Age. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE BARREN BEDROOM? =============================================================================== A: If you've already been to the Mechanical or Stoneship Ages, you shouldn't have this question. If not, then, the answer is yes. In addition to the blue page on the floor. There's some sort of device in the corner of the room. You should be able to deduce the purpose of the first three messages fairly easily, but the fourth... You know who this person is. You may not understand what he means right now, but remember his message. It may make more sense later on. Regarding the blue page, why would the blue page be in this particular room? What could that say about the person who owns this room? Then, what does this room say about that person's character (or mental state)? =============================================================================== Q: WHERE IS THE MYST BOOK? =============================================================================== A: You've explored the second and third levels pretty thoroughly, so you need to return to the ground level. Try and explore the walkways as much as possible. You started out heading towards the windmill. Now try to go away from it. See if you can find a gap in the walkway, with a generator on your side. Perhaps powering the generator will provide a way to get across. You should know the drill by now: direct the water from the windmill to the generator. OK, you've found another elevator, but the pipe leading into the generator is coming from another direction. And you'll soon discover that the pipe has a gap. Obviously, if you want to power that generator, you'll need to connect the pipe. It's easy: on the elevator side is a handle which will extend a section of pipe across the gap. In order to reach the elevator, you and the water will have to follow different paths. You'll have to direct the water through the pipes, crossing the gap. You will have to cross the bridge, though, in order to reach the elevator. Once you ride the elevator, you'll find the Myst Book. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | F. FINISHING UP [III.F] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: WHO SHOULD I FREE? =============================================================================== A: This is the central question of the game. It is assumed that at this point you have visited all four Ages and are trying to decide in which Book to place a fifth page (the first page next to the Books in the library plus one from each of the four Ages). At this point, you should already have your own ideas about who you should free. You have to put that page in one Book or the other, though. There's not really anything else you can do. Just insert the page of whichever brother you believe should be freed. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DOES THE FIREPLACE WORK? =============================================================================== A: Crawl inside. You should see a red button on the left. Try touching the smooth gray surface. You should now see how to use the pattern given to you by the brothers. =============================================================================== Q: RED PAGE, BLUE PAGE, OR GREEN BOOK? =============================================================================== A: Now you have come to it: the real decision must be made here. The basic question you must answer is: Who do you trust? Think over everything you've learned about these two brothers. Atrus believes at least one of them to be responsible for burning the Books in the library. How did they end up in the Trap Books in the first place? It wasn't by accident. They both claim they were unjustly imprisoned in the Books by Atrus for the other brother's crimes. They each blame the other for the destruction of the Books. Obviously, one (or both) of them is (are) lying. Therefore, your decision should be based on who you believe to be telling the truth. Or, in other words, who has the most integrity. Think about what you've learned about Sirrus and Achenar from their rooms in the Mechanical, Stoneship, and Channelwood Ages, as well as from their messages to you in the Books. Sirrus appears to be cool and sophisticated, even somewhat arrogant. From his rooms, you know that he is filled with greed and lusts for wealth. You also know he has abused alcohol and drugs, and there are signs that he has forced the native inhabitants of the Ages to recognize his authority. Achenar, on the other hand, seems to have gone off the deep end. In his rooms, you can see a perverted, twisted mind. He seems to revel in death, violence, and torture. He, also, it seems, has set himself up as ruler in the Ages. From all this information, what conclusion can you draw about the integrity of the two brothers? Does one stand above the other? Would you trust either one? Would you believe one more than the other? Does either brother deserve to be freed? The conclusion you should draw is: no. Both brothers are equally bad. Do you believe that one is lying and the other telling the truth? Neither brother has any qualities that put him above the other. Since both brothers appear to be equally wicked, there is no way you can trust the words of one above the words of the other. Throughout your journey, almost everything the brothers have said has been in direct contradiction to what the other has said. For example, "Bring red pages"/"Bring blue pages", "Sirrus is guilty"/ "Achenar is guilty", etc. What is the one thing they have agreed upon? You just heard it in their last message? Besides the instructions for the fireplace. They both told you not to touch the Green Book. Remember, both brothers are equally untrustworthy. Therefore, if both brothers agree that you should *not* touch the Green Book... =============================================================================== Q: WHERE IS ATRUS'S MISSING PAGE? =============================================================================== A: You haven't found it lying around anywhere in any of the Ages. Therefore, it must have been hidden. Atrus said Sirrus and Achenar took it. Now you understand Sirrus's message in Channelwood: "He is preparing. Take only one page, my dear brother." Maybe they left clues as to its location. In your explorations, did you come across torn pieces of a note? A note explaining how to access a secret vault? The note was torn in two, and the two halves are located in the brother's bedrooms in two separate Ages. One half is in Achenar's bedroom in Stoneship, the other is in Sirrus's bedroom in Channelwood. The note describes how to access the "Marker Switch Vault" on Myst. The instructions are self-explanatory. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | G. RIME AGE [III.G] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I GET TO THE RIME AGE? =============================================================================== A: Atrus left you some clues. He dropped the Rime Age journal on the floor of the library. He didn't do that on accident. He also wrote in it. Look in the illustrations in the back. Maybe you should go to the forechamber. He circled the back of the imager. Is anything over there? You should find another button, but it doesn't do anything. What else was in the pictures? You should know by now that what the imager displays depends on what code is entered into the control panel. See what code is entered in the control panel in the illustration. Once that code is entered, the button on the back of the imager will activate. Once you've pushed the button, does anything stand out on the diagram of the path to the rocket? One of the circles is different. It has a button in the center of it. Generally, when you see something happen on a model or diagram, a something similar has happened to the real thing. Maybe you should go check out the path to the rocket ship. The *side* of the path. Hmmmm, a device which requires a four-digit code. Atrus wrote a number in the back of the Rime journal, and it just so happens to have four digits. Once you enter the code, the device will ascend. Whatever you did probably affects whatever was above the device. Try retracing your steps above ground to see what spot above ground corresponds to the device's location. It seems to be underneath the library. The device will raise the central section of the floor in the library, revealing a niche containing the Rime Book. =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO I OPEN THE DOOR? =============================================================================== A: It appears to be frozen shut. Maybe some heat would improve the situation. Is there anything in the room that could provide heat? There is a gas heater, but the gas has been cut off. Look for the gas pipe, and see if there's any way to turn on the gas. The pipe runs into the left side of the building, where the heater is. There's a handle on it. Turn it. OK, now you've got gas and can turn on the heater, but the door's still not melting. All the heat seems to be escaping the room somehow... You would be really annoyed if someone did this at your house. Duh! The door's open! =============================================================================== Q: HOW DO THE AURORA CONTROLS WORK? =============================================================================== A: You really shouldn't need any help here. Just play around with the controls and see what happens. Use the lever to select one of three possible colors: red, blue, or green. Then press the button to cause electricity to arc between the towers in the ocean, creating an aurora of the selected color overhead. There's nothing to learn here, really. It's just a fun and awe-inspiring piece of technology. =============================================================================== Q: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE HERE BESIDES THE AURORA CONTROLS? =============================================================================== A: Yes. Did you notice that the elevator has small rectangular holes in the sides? On the ground floor, they don't appear to serve any purpose. On the *ground floor*. Look at the openings again on the top floor. You'll find a button that will rotate the elevator 180 degrees. =============================================================================== Q: OK, I FOUND THE JOURNAL. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE HERE? =============================================================================== A: Yes. What did Atrus's journals discuss so much in this Age? Much of the journals were devoted to the crystals Atrus has been working with. They've got to be around here somewhere. So far you've reached three locations via the elevator: Facing forward, ground level: door to outside Facing forward, top level: aurora controls Facing backward, top level: Atrus's journal What's the missing combination? There's nothing that says you can't use the elevator while it's rotated. Rotate the elevator so it's facing backwards, then go down. =============================================================================== Q: WHAT DO I DO WITH THE CRYSTAL IMAGER? =============================================================================== A: Try playing around with it to see how it works. There are five circular geodes which connect to the blank Linking Book. What happens if you touch one of the geodes? What happens if you wave your hand over the crystal? See what happens when you select five crystals and push the red button. How can you explain what you see? What have you done? From the journals, Atrus was attempting to view Ages using the crystals. Instead of using special words written with special ink on special Books, Atrus is attempting to use combinations of crystals. Since you entered a random combination, you did not "link" to any specific Age, and so just got an image of empty space. Do you have any specific combinations of crystals? There was one in Atrus's journal (the one on Rime). Except that the last crystal is smudged. You'll just have to guess for it. If you input the crystals correctly, you'll generate an image of an Age. See what happens when you manipulate the colors. Surely this isn't all Atrus wanted you to see. Try exploring the rest of the lab. Look at the desk. There's a note on it. What was the real point of all this crystal business? From his journal, you know that Atrus was trying to view an Age called Riven, an Age where his father is now. Catherine apparently was also very interested in viewing Riven. What could be the Age that this combination "links" to, then? From the note, you can tell that this is something very important to Atrus and Catherine. The combination in Catherine's note is the combination for Riven. Why don't you put it into the viewer? This must be the whole reason Atrus wanted you to come here. =============================================================================== Q: I'VE FOUND THE CRYSTAL IMAGER. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? =============================================================================== A: No. The point of coming to this Age is to find the crystal imager and use it to view a particular Age. If you don't know what Age that is, see the previous hint. SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER* _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | IV. WALKTHROUGH [IV] | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| This section is just what it sounds like, it will walk you through the game from beginning to end. It is important to note that there is no set order in which to explore Myst, and the one presented here is only one of many. However, the order you choose will affect how and when you learn certain important pieces of information, so you may learn some things sooner or later than they are learned by following the walkthrough. Also, this section places particular emphasis on explaining the logic and rationale behind making your decisions. You may find this section useful if you want to find out why a particular puzzle is solved a certain way, but be aware that solutions to puzzles will be given in this section. If you want to get headed in the right direction with a puzzle, but don't want the answer, see section [III], Hints. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | A. MYST ISLAND [IV.A] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. The Myst Book [IV.A.1] =============================================================================== "The moment I fell into the Fissure I realized the Book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse of which I had only a fleeting glimpse. I have tried to speculate where it might have landed, but I must confess such conjecture is futile. Still, questions about whose hands might one day hold my Myst Book are unsettling to me. I know my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written." You have discovered a book. It is relatively thick, and somewhat used: a few tears and worn spots are visible on the edges of its mottled brown cover, which bears the title "Myst". Opening the book, you'll find a blue rectangle drawn on the right-hand page, which seems rather odd. What's more odd, though, is that after a few seconds the picture will begin to change, as if the image is moving! Soon, a light blue will appear above the dark blue, revealing an image of ocean and sky, all happening on the page of this book! Then, incredibly, as the image in the picture continues to move, an island will become visible. You can see a small evergreen forest on the near side of the island, a rocky mountain on the far side. The picture will move to a view almost directly overhead the island, and you'll be able to make out several buildings and structures on the island. Finally, the moving image will stop, coming to rest on a wooden dock. What kind of book is this? Where did it come from? What kind of technology could produce a changing image on the page of a book? In an attempt to discover what is going on with this book, you touch the picture of the island. Suddenly, you feel as if you are being sucked into the book! Everything goes black, and a second later you find yourself standing on the dock in the picture! =============================================================================== 2. Atrus's Note [IV.A.2] =============================================================================== You are standing on the dock that the picture in the book was showing! Somehow the book has transported you to the place its moving image was showing! And where is this place anyway? Is this some uncharted island? Are you even still on Earth, or have you been transported to some parallel universe? Since you have no idea where you are and there doesn't seem to be any apparent way to get back, you might as well explore this place. Perhaps you can find out how you were transported here, where "here" is, and if there's any way you can get back. First, take a look around. You are standing on a short, well-tended wooden dock with a door sunk into a slope to your left and the ocean to your right. There is something sticking out of the water near the dock, and it looks like the mast and crow's nest of a sunken ship! Behind you is a steep slope, and in front of you is a short staircase. Next to the steps is a strangely shaped box on a small pedestal, with a switch on top of it. You can flip the switch, but nothing will happen. Flip it back to its original position. The stairs lead to a platform above the dock, with a path made of wooden logs leading across the well-tended grass to the left, and more stairs to the right. The stairs lead up to a higher plateau, where two giant gears are laying on the ground. One is laying flat and the other is vertical, halfway embedded in the ground. Neither of them appear to be doing anything. There is another strange box by them, but it doesn't appear to do anything, either. Looking up from the ledge with the gears, you can see a rocky mountain towering above the rest of the island, with a round structure built on top of it. Go back down the stairs and take the wooden path. You'll be able to see a round building with a domed ceiling ahead, and a larger building a little farther off. You'll also notice a piece of paper lying on the ground. Pick it up, and you'll see that it's a note. It reads: Catherine, I've left for you a message of utmost importance in our fore-chamber beside the dock. Enter the number of Marker Switches on this island into the imager to retrieve the message. Yours, Atrus Now you're wondering who Catherine and Atrus are. Apparently they live here, and judging by the size of the island, they may be the only people who live here. But are they here now? Though you just appeared here a few minutes ago, you haven't seen or heard any signs of life beyond a few seagulls. Whoever they are, they certainly have strange tastes. Perhaps this Atrus and Catherine were responsible for creating the book that brought you here, and maybe they can send you back home. In order for them to do that, though, you'll have to find them. The note says that Atrus has left some kind of message for Catherine in "the fore-chamber beside the dock". To access it, she has to input the number of "Marker Switches" on this island into the "imager". Perhaps if you could find that message you could figure out what's going on here, or where to find Atrus and Catherine. The first thing you should probably do is to find the fore-chamber. The note said it was "beside the dock", so go back to the dock. If you look at the wall facing the ocean, you'll see what looks like a door set into the wall. Touch the door, and it will slide up automatically. Inside you'll find a staircase leading down to a circular room containing a basin of rippling water. However, this basin is unusual (hasn't everything been lately?) in that it has a button on the front. Push it, and the water will disappear, revealing instead a grid of wires and glowing circles! There wasn't really any water at all; it was just an illusion projected somehow by the basin! Books that transport people to far-away islands, basins creating false images; Atrus and Catherine have technology far beyond what exists where you come from. Pressing the button again will reactivate the water image. This basin is probably where Catherine would view the message mentioned in the note. There doesn't appear to be anything else in the room, but if you turn around and look back at the stairs you came in by, you'll see a panel beside the entryway. Walk up to it, and you'll see that it is a frame containing a piece of paper. On the paper is written: SETTINGS - DIMENSIONAL IMAGER Topographical Extrusion Test......40 Water-Turbulent Pool..............67 Marker Switch Diagram.............47 This sheet appears to list all the different images the basin/imager can project. You can see that "Water-Turbulent Pool" is listed, and that must be the one that was on when you first entered the fore-chamber. The third listing is "Marker Switch Diagram". This one could be helpful, since the number of Marker Switches on the island is the key to access Atrus's message. Each listing has a number listed next to it, which appears to be the code necessary to activate it. Unfortunately, you don't know where to enter it. If you look closely at the frame the paper is inside, though, you'll see a small, green button in the top left corner. Push it, and the frame will slide away, revealing a control panel with the number 67 entered. This must be where you input the codes for the different displays. 67 was the code for the Water-Turbulent Pool, so that is what is currently entered in. Since you want to view the Marker Switch Diagram, use the arrow buttons to change the code to 47, then press the red button. You'll hear a series of beeps, indicating the code is being sent to the imager. Walk over to the imager and press the button on the front of it, and a 3-D picture of one of the strange boxes with the useless switches will appear in the air above the basin! So those are Marker Switches! Now you know what you're looking for. After the image has been displayed for a few seconds, it will disappear automatically. Leave the fore-chamber, and you can start searching for Marker Switches, which will also give you a chance to explore this place. =============================================================================== 3. Marker Switch Hunting [IV.A.3] =============================================================================== First, return to the Marker Switch at the dock. You don't know if it really matters, but you might as well flip its switch, just so you know you found it. You can also flip the Marker Switch by the gears. Now go down the wooden path where you found the note. You'll soon come to the domed building you saw earlier. It has a wooden door with a golden seal on it. There's another Marker Switch by the door, so that brings the count to three. If you want, you can go inside the building and investigate. Inside you'll find a leather chair with a very low back, so that when you sit in it you're actually lying down, looking up at the domed ceiling. While you're laying down, you can pull down a display panel from overhead. This panel contains a square screen on the left, four sets of sliders and arrow buttons, and a display at the bottom which reads, "JANUARY 1, 0001, 12:00 AM". By moving the sliders or pressing the arrow buttons, you can adjust the date and time, all the way to December 31, 9999, 11:59 PM! If you push the button on the far left, the display will make some noises, and something very faint will appear on the display screen. However, it's almost as if there's too much light to see it clearly. Get up from the chair and press the button next to the door, which will turn off the lights. Once the lights are off, the purpose of this room will be clear. The domed ceiling will fill with stars; it's a planetarium! By entering dates and times into the control panel, you can view the positions of the stars at that time. Amazing! Feel free to play around with it: find what the stars looked like on your birthday, etc., but at some point you'll need to leave and continue your search. Continuing down the path, you'll soon reach the larger building you glimpsed before you found the note. It is rectangular with columns in front, somewhat like an ancient Greek temple. Look inside, and you'll see that the walls and floor are all wooden, and you can see a bookcase at the far end. However, there's no Marker Switch there, so leave it for now. Another path leads away from the steps of the building,but on the other side you'll find a brick walkway leading to, believe it or not, a rocket! What a strange island this is! Following the elevated path, you'll find a long, narrow, rocket with swept-back fins, a pointed nose, and a golden yellow color, lying on its side and pointing toward the ocean. In short, it looks like a giant dart. There's a door in the side of it, but it won't open. There is also a cable running into the rocket above the door. If you turn around to follow the cable's path, you'll see that it connects to a brick tower, then disappears into the trees. Most importantly for now, however, is that there's a Marker Switch in front of it, so flip the switch and go back towards the large building so that you can go down the other path. In the center of this path is a stone basin filled with water and with a model ship submerged at the bottom. On the other side of the basin is a Marker Switch, which brings your total to five. Also, on either side of the path are eight pillars with a wooden stand in front of them. On each stand is a picture of an animal or object, all glowing red. If you touch one of the images, it will turn green. Very strange! (That word "strange" is starting to get overused, but it's the only adequate way to describe this place.) Touching the object again will turn it back to red. Since you have no idea what the stands are for, make sure to leave them all as you found them (red) before continuing down the path. The path now leads into a small evergreen forest, and soon you'll encounter a small brick building to the right. There's a Marker Switch in front of it, so that brings the count to six. If you want, you can enter the small building, which serves as the entrance to a staircase leading underground. At the bottom of the steps you will come to a gray metal door. Press the blue button beside it, and it will open. Inside is a control panel facing a long series of electric generators. There are two dials on the panel, both reading 00, and 10 buttons. Since you don't know what these controls are for, don't push very many buttons, but each one will bring both of the dials up a different amount, and you can hear the generators powering up as well. Since this appears to be heavy-duty equipment, you probably shouldn't mess with it too much, and be sure to turn all the generators off again before you leave. As you turn back towards the door, you'll notice a piece of paper stuck to the wall. It shows a picture of the control panel, with "POWER" over the first dial, "POWER TO SHIP" over the second dial, and "GENERATOR CONTROLS" over the 10 buttons. After exiting the building, if you look to the side, you'll see a brick tower supporting a cable, which subsequently disappears into the side of the building. The spaceship you saw earlier had a similar cable leading out of it; perhaps this is the spaceship's power supply. Almost directly across from the generator room is another short path which leads to a log cabin, with another Marker Switch in front of it. If you wish, you can enter the log cabin, but there isn't much inside. All that's in there is a dead gas furnace, with no visible way to start it, and a securely locked safe. From the cabin, return to the main path and take a left, which will take you to a small beach. A short distance offshore is a clock tower sitting on a flat gear, with a door leading inside. The hands are stopped at noon, and the word "Myst" is written on the face of the clock. Since that was also the title of the book that brought you here, perhaps Myst is the name of this place. There's no way to reach the island, but you can see a Marker Switch next to the door, so that makes eight in all. The only other object of interest is a metal box set into the ground on the beach in front of you. It has two wheels: one large, one small, and a large red button. If you turn the large wheel, the minute hand on the clock will move by 5 minutes, and turning the small wheel will rotate the hour hand by 1 hour. Nothing will happen when you push the red button. Obviously this clock tower must have some other purpose besides telling time, but it doesn't look like you'll be able to discover that purpose now. If you turn to your left as you face the ocean, you'll find a second path running back into the forest which leads to a colossal tree, surrounded by a brick wall. The trunk is extremely tall, towering high above every other tree in the forest, and there are no branches on it for a very long way up. There's also no Marker Switch. Well, it seems you've explored all you can of this island, and you've found a total of eight Marker Switches: seven you could get reach directly, and one that you could only see, but not touch. To summarize, here are the locations of the Marker Switches: 1. dock 2. gears 3. planetarium 4. spaceship 5. basin 6. generator control room 7. log cabin 8. clock tower Now that you think you know how many Marker Switches there are on Myst, you can go back to the fore-chamber and enter that into the imager display to retrieve Atrus's message. Go back to the fore-chamber and enter "08" into the display. Push the red button, then push the button on front of the imager. A flat image will appear on the surface of the basin,depicting a man wearing glasses. Here is his message: "Catherine, my love. I have to leave quickly, something terrible has happened. It's hard for me to believe... most of my books have been destroyed. Catherine, it is one of our sons! I suspect Achenar, but I shouldn't leap to conclusions... I'll find him and Sirrus as well. Oh, I should have known better than to have left my library unchecked for so long! Well, I've removed the remaining undamaged books from the library and placed them in their places of protection. You shouldn't have to use the books until I return, but... if you've forgotten the access keys, remember the tower rotation. Oh, and don't worry Catherine, everything will be fine. I'll see you shortly. Oh, and erase this message after you've viewed it, just to be safe." Well, it seems that Atrus and Catherine are having some problems. From the message you can infer that Atrus and Catherine are married and have two sons, Sirrus and Achenar. One of these sons has destroyed most of the books in Atrus's library, but Atrus doesn't know who. This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. First you're supernaturally transported to an island with the strangest conglomeration of structures you've ever seen, then you find it to be deserted, though you know people live here, and now you learn that you've arrived in the middle of a major family crisis. Anyway, back to Atrus's message. Apparently Atrus attaches a lot of importance to these books, and he seems to have placed the remaining ones in "places of protection," which apparently require "access keys" to get to. There's also a mention of "tower rotation" in case Catherine's forgotten the access keys. From his message, Atrus seemed to imply that he was leaving Myst to search for his sons, but then where is Catherine? And how old is this message in the first place? You know it must be relatively recent, since everything on the island is still clean and manicured, so the place had to have been maintained until faily recently. But did this take place hours, days, or weeks ago? It appears that Atrus's message has created more questions than answers, and it looks like it is high time to pay a visit to his library, which must be the large columned building at the end of the log path. =============================================================================== 4. The Library [IV.A.4] =============================================================================== When you enter the impressive-looking columned library, you'll find that the interior is entirely wood-paneled and octagonal in shape. Light is provided by a chandelier that hangs from a domed ceiling painted with clouds. Directly across the room from the door, however, is the object that should be your first interest: the bookshelf. Walk up to it, and you'll see that it contains three shelves of books, some of which have been knocked over. If you flip through them, you'll discover that most have been charred to a crisp, all their pages completely burnt. These must be the books that Sirrus or Achenar destroyed, or at least some of them. You should, however, find 6 books that are still readable, and you'll find that five of them are journals, describing five very different places, or "Ages", as Atrus calls them. Make sure to read all the journals, which will not only provide descriptions of the various locales, but will also provide some information about Atrus, his sons, and how you arrived here. The first readable book is on the left side of the top shelf, and it describes the Channelwood Age, a forest growing from the water, inhabited by intelligent monkey-like creatures. The next intact journal is blue, and is on the right side of the top shelf. It contains Atrus's account of the Stoneship Age, a group of small rocky islands inhabited by a few young boys. On the left side of the middle shelf you will find a blue journal describing an Age that is never named, but was an uninhabited oasis until the surface was ravaged by meteors. A brown book rests on the left side of the bottom shelf, and it described the Mechanical Age, where Atrus built a fortress to protect its inhabitants from invading Black Ships. Finally, on the right side of the bottom shelf is the Rime Age journal, describing a cold world where Atrus carried out experiments. It seems that these journals do not just describe locations that Atrus visited; they describe entire worlds that Atrus wrote! From the journals, you'll learn that Atrus reached these Ages by writing Books (he spells them with a capital B) describing them! Apparently the Book you found that sent you to Myst was one such Book. He calls the ability to write these fantastic Books "The Art," and apparently by writing a Book which describes a world, the Book will create a "link" to that world! What an incredible ability! So incredible, you would have called it laughable before today, when you experienced it firsthand. According to the journals, Atrus did not discover or create this amazing ability, he was taught it by his father, so who knows who first discovered the technique for writing Ages? This discovery, that Atrus has written many of these amazing "Linking Books," also reveals why Atrus was so distraught upon finding his books burned. The books that were destroyed were not merely novels or biographies, but Linking Books, which, you can deduce from the journals, took lots of time and skill to write, meaning that one of his sons could have destroyed years of work! One of the books on the shelf, however, is not a journal, but a partially burned book filled with 300 different arrangements of squares laid out on a grid. What the purpose of this book could be, you have no idea. Now that you've perused the remains of Atrus's bookshelf, turn around and explore the rest of the library. On opposite sides of the room you'll find two books resting on podiums set into the wall. One book has a red cover, the other blue. Each book also has a piece of paper next to it, tinted the same color as the book. Go up to the red book and open it. You'll see another moving picture like the Myst Book that brought you here! However, instead of an image of another world, the "window" will only display red static, like it can't get through to the world it's supposed to connect to. This appears to be a Linking Book, but it seems like it is broken. Could it have something to do with the piece of paper next to the Book? Perhaps the paper is a page that's been torn out of the Book, which is preventing the Book from working. Insert the red page into the Book, then turn back to the window. There'll still be a lot of static, but then, for a moment, you'll see a man! He appears to be young, maybe in his 20s or 30s, with short brown hair and a goatee. When he appears, he will call out, "Who are you?" before being drowned out again by static. He's trying to say something to you, but this is all you can make out: "Who are you? ... must come and help ... bring me a red page ... I can't, I can't see you ... bring a red page, you must ... please, I beg you to bring a red page ... please help ... I am Sirrus ... Achenar, don't go ... there is one thing I need to be rescued ... you must ..." This is interesting. Sirrus or Achenar destroy almost all of their father's books, causing him to leave to go after them. Then, you find Sirrus somehow "inside" a red Book in the library. Sirrus seems to be trapped inside the Book, and implied that more red pages would help him. That would make sense, since the picture became clearer after you put the first red page in. Perhaps if you complete the book, you can help him escape. The question is, do you want to help him escape? In Atrus's message, he said that Sirrus may have been responsible for burning the Books. It seems that if you want to have any chance of getting back home, you're going to have to get to the bottom of this. Besides, it's not like there's anything else for you to do. Meanwhile, there's still the blue book on the opposite side of the room. If the Red Book held Sirrus, could the blue one hold Achenar? Go find out. Opening the Blue Book, you'll see another static-filled window, except now the static is blue. This Book also appears to be missing several pages, and again, there's a blue page resting next to the Book. If you insert the blue page into the Blue Book, you'll see another person appear amongst the static. A man will pop into view, with curly brown hair and a rather wide face. His first words are "Sirrus, is that you?... Who are you?" He says this with a kind of laugh, almost as if he's drunk. Here is the rest of his message: "Sirrus, is that you? ... Who are you? ... I can't see ... I'm Achenar ... help me, I ... bring me blue pages ... forever and ever ... pages ... I must have the blue pages ... bring them to me ..." Achenar spoke with a kind of laugh, in fact he giggled some during his message. He almost seems a little crazy. Sirrus, on the other hand, seemed very cool and sophisticated, from the very little you were able to see of him. Perhaps you'll be able to learn more about them. They both want to be rescued from these Books that they've somehow become trapped in, and they need you to find pages of their Book's particular color in order to free them. You haven't seen any other red or blue pages on Myst, though, and you've explored almost all of the island. Perhaps a study of the rest of the library will yield some answers. =============================================================================== 5. The Tower [IV.A.5] =============================================================================== Next to the door, you'll see a framed map hanging on the wall. Step up to it, and you'll find that it's a topographical map of Myst. Also, when you approach it, several images will appear on the map. You'll see that these images are of buildings and other features on Myst. There will also be a flashing, red circle located behind the library. Looking at the various locations lit up on the map, you'll see the dock, the gears, the planetarium... these are all the places where you activated Marker Switches, plus the library and the red circle! So this is what the Marker Switches do! If you want to test the theory, go outside and flip off one of the nearby Marker Switches, then return to the library map. The area where the Marker Switch was should be blank on the map now. Before moving on, make sure all the Marker Switches you can get to (all but the clock tower) are on. Press your hand over the flashing red circle, and several things will happen. First, the words "Tower Rotation" will appear at the bottom of the map. Second, a white line will shoot out from the circle extending to the edge of the map. Third, you'll hear a strange, high-pitched humming sound. Finally, the white line will begin to rotate around the map. As you watch it sweep around the map, you'll notice that it will stop momentarily and turn red at four spots. These four spots are the gears, the sunken ship, the tall tree, and the rocket. The line will continue to move until you take your hand off the circle. When you release your hand, you'll hear a loud rumbling, groaning sound from outside. Run outside and look up above the library. At the summit of the mountain behind the library is the gray cylindrical structure you also saw from the gears, and its location corresponds to the red circle on the map. This structure must be the tower, and by holding down the red circle on the map, you have rotated the actual tower! But what for? Atrus's message implied that "access keys" were necessary to unlock the "places of protection" where he stored his remaining Books. He also mentioned that Catherine should remember the "tower rotation" in case she had forgotten these access keys. It seems, then, that rotating the tower will allow you to find the access keys. Since you don't seem to have any other options, perhaps you should try to use these keys to unlock Atrus's places of protection. By exploring the Ages contained in his remaining Books, you may find something that will shed light on what is going on with Atrus's family, or on how to get home. It seems obvious that the access keys can be found by stopping the tower rotation at the four spots where the line radiating from the tower turns red. So, use the map to rotate the tower until it is aligned with the giant gears, one of the four "red spots". Now that you've rotated the tower to one of these "red spots", you need to find a way to get into the tower. Since it's behind the library, perhaps there's a way into it from the library. The only things in the library that you haven't examined yet are the empty fireplace next to the door and two paintings on either side of the bookshelf. First, examine the picture to the left of the bookshelf. It depicts a tunnel, apparently leading from the library. If you look closely at the steps, you'll be able to make out books in them! Touch the picture, and you'll hear a click, then the actual painting will swirl! Next, turn around to see the shelves of the bookshelf separate and sink into the floor, forming steps into a secret tunnel! The entrance to the library will also shut, preventing anyone else from entering while there is access to the secret tunnel. At this point, you're almost starting to get used to all this futuristic technology. Follow the tunnel to reach a small stone chamber with an elevator car in the center. Step inside and you'll see a small display by the door reading "LIBRARY". Close the door, then push the green button to activate the elevator. You'll ascend, then rotate to the left, then ascend again. When the elevator comes to a stop, the door will open, and the display will change to "TOWER". The tower is a round, metal chamber, with the elevator in the center. There is a ladder in front of you, with a brass plate at its foot engraved with a picture of an open book. Behind the elevator is another ladder, with another brass plate, this one depicting a key. Climb up the ladder with the book symbol, and you'll climb onto a platform with a narrow slit in the wall. Looking through the slit window, you'll see that you're looking down on the giant gears. That would be expected, since you rotated the tower so that it was pointing toward the gears. Climb down the book ladder and go up the key ladder. At the top of this ladder is another brass plate, this one with writing on it. It reads: 2:40 2, 2, 1 Now everything in Atrus's message is starting to come together. He said that he'd placed the remaining Books in the places of protection, which the gear seems to be one of (since the ladder leading to the window looking down on the gears has a picture of a book on it). He told Catherine that the Books are reached using access keys, and that if she'd forgotten them to remember the tower rotation. You have now used the tower rotation to find the access keys: the numbers written on the plaque above the key ladder. Now you just need to figure out how to use these access keys, and you should be able to find Atrus's Books! ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | B. MECHANICAL AGE [IV.B] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. Accessing Mechanical Age [IV.B.1] =============================================================================== The access key is made of of two sets of numbers, and the first is "2:40". This looks like a time, but what should you do with it? Does it mean that something will happen at that time? Or that you must do something at that time? Or perhaps that you must set something to that time? Remember the clock tower: there is a box set in the beach across from it that allows you to set the time on the clock. That must be what the access key means! Head to the beach and use the wheels on the box to set the time on the clock to 2:40, then press the button. A walkway made of gears will ascend from the water, allowing you to reach the clock tower! Inside the tower is a strange contraption. At its base is a gear, standing vertically, halfway embedded into the foundation of the machine, just like the giant gear above the dock. At the top of the machine are three stone wheels, situated horizontally, and with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 engraved all along their sides. Right now, all three of the wheels have the number 3 facing toward you. There are also three levers: two on the floor at the base of the machine and one on the wall behind it. The left-hand lever will cause the middle and bottom wheels to rotate by one number. Holding the lever will cause the middle wheel to continue spinning until you let go. The right lever rotates the top and middle wheels one number, and holding it also causes the middle wheel to continue rotating. Also, for each turn of the wheel, a weight along the left wall will drop a little bit, and when it has reached the bottom of its chain, none of the levers will work. Pull the large lever on the wall to pull the weight up and to reset all the wheels to 3, 3, 3 again. This must be where the second part of the access key comes in, the "2, 2, 1". It seems that we need to use the levers to set the wheels to 2, 2, 1. From 3, 3, 3, here is the shortest way to accomplish that goal: First, pull the left lever once, rotating the bottom two wheels, so that it reads 3, 1, 1. Next, hold down the right lever, rotating the top two wheels until the three wheels read 1, 1, 1. Finally, pull the right lever one more time, causing the wheels to read 2, 2, 1. Once you set the wheels to 2, 2, 1, the weight will drop completely down, and you'll hear a hissing sound. Then, the small gear at the base of the machine will rotate 90 degrees, and you'll see that the gear is missing a section, since now, only one quarter of the gear will be visible. Go back outside, and you'll see that not only did the model gear in the clock tower rotate, but so did the giant gear above the dock! Approach it, and you'll see that there's a book resting on a shelf inside the gear. Open it, and you'll see another moving picture, this one of a large, white building with three small islands around it. You have found one of Atrus's few remaining Linking Books! After you've gotten a good look at the Age through the window, touch it to be transported to the Mechanical Age. =============================================================================== 2. The Luxurious Room [IV.B.2] =============================================================================== After you place your hand against the picture in the Mechanical Age Book, you'll reappear... facing another giant gear! Step away from it, though, and you'll realize you're in a very different place. You're standing on a small, rocky island, with several gears of various shapes and sizes strewn on the ground. To your right, you'll see a dull green walkway leading over the water to a large, metallic building perched above the ocean equidistant from your island and another island to the right. This must be the fortress described in Atrus's journal. The fortress has a rather odd, angular shape, with a bright green and yellow roof. On your island, there's a gray, metal platform located next to the fortress walkway. Next to the platform is a pedestal, and if you walk up to it you'll see that it contains four displays showing green horseshoe symbols, each with a green button beneath them. Pushing the buttons will cause the display to cycle through ten different symbols. One of your goals on this world should be to find the combination for the pedestal. Now that the starting island has been thoroughtly investigated, follow the walkway across to the fortress. You'll see that the end of the walkway is resting on a circular track that surrounds the fortress. Enter the fortress, and you will immediately encounter a choice: two hallways leading left and right. You might as well work from left to right, so take the hallway leading to the left. At the end of the hallway, you'll emerge into an elaborately decorated room. The floor contains an intricate design of polished marble, and an elaborate marble throne occupies one wall of the room. Beyond that, the room is full of exquisite artwork, as well as other objects, all of the highest quality. As you examine them all, you'll find models of the spaceship on Myst and of a clock tower, though not the one on Myst. There's a telescope looking out the window onto the ocean, but there's nothing in view. There are three rotating objects that light up when you pass your hand over them. There's also a toy bird on a stand that will move its head and flap its wings when you crank it up. This room seems almost to be a kind of throne room, a blatant display of wealth and sophistication. However, you have no idea whose wealth and sophistication is being displayed. There is also a large, elaborate tapestry hanging on the wall next to the throne. Look carefully, and you'll see a wall panel set back from the rest of the wall near the ground behind the tapestry. Touch the panel and it will slide up, revealing a hidden passage. Crawl through and you'll emerge in a storage room containing several chests, all full of gold and silver bars or coins. There is also a wine rack, and rolled up in one of the slots is an old, yellowed piece of paper. Unroll it to find this written on it: Sirrus: Your greed sickens me. Your desire for wealth and plunder is never satisfied. I will instruct my subjects not to pay your new tax and you know they'll listen to me. Regards, Achenar A note from Achenar to Sirrus! Remember, Sirrus is in the Red Book and Achenar is in the Blue Book; they are Atrus's sons. Apparently, Achenar thinks his brother Sirrus is very greedy. Since Achenar placed his note here, in this cache of treasure, then perhaps this room belonged to Sirrus, where he decided to show off his huge supply of "wealth and plunder". Also, the fact that Achenar mentions his "subjects" is intriguing. So far, you haven't seen anyone on this Age, yet apparently there were people here. The note appeared very yellowed, indicating it was rather old. Where did the people go? And why were they Achenar's (and presumably Sirrus's as well) servants? There's one more important item in this room, in the open treasure chest in the corner. Inside, you'll find a red page! This is yet another clue that this room belongs to Sirrus. From the Red Book, Sirrus begged you to find more red pages. Well, here is a red page, so now what should you do with it? You might as well take it and see what happens. Perhaps by bringing back more pages, you can get Sirrus and Achenar to tell you more about what's happened. Once you've thoroughly explored the luxurious room, leave through the door at the opposite end. =============================================================================== 3. The Violent Room [IV.B.3] =============================================================================== After leaving the luxurious room, you'll go down a short, straight hallway, with another short hallway leading off to the right. Ignore it for now, and continue straight down the hall. At the end of the hall, you'll emerge in another large room, similar in size and shape to the previous one. This room, however, is the exact opposite of the one you just left. The floor is dirty, and littered with pipes and planks. Explore this one just like you did the luxurious one, although it's not very pretty. You'll see what looks like a gorilla head beneath crossed swords mounted on the wall like a trophy, a "cobra-in-the-box" toy, racks of clubs and maces, and many other instruments of destruction and torture. Against one wall there's a tall, narrow chair, and next to it is a brown pedestal with two levers on top. Walk up to it and words will appear in the air in front of you, reading "Fortress Rotation Simulator: Calibrating"! After a few seconds, the words will disappear and will be replaced by an image of the fortress, which will rotate to a top-down view. Finally, marks and lines will appear around the edges of the diagram. In Atrus's journal, he mentioned that he had built a device to teach the inhabitants how to use the fortress. This must be that device. Perhaps you should use the device, as well. If you pull the right-hand lever, nothing will happen. Pull the left-hand lever, though, and the red line representing the walkway that connects the fortress to the island will move slightly to the right, then stop. Now try the right-hand lever again, and the walkway will begin rotating counter-clockwise, first slowly, then gaining speed. Release the lever when it gets close to the east arrow mark (assuming that north is at the top of the diagram). The walkway will gradually slow, swaying back and forth until it comes to a stop. Once it does, pull the left-hand lever, and the walkway will snap into position, lining up exactly with the arrow mark, and simultaneously causing the device to emit a "swoosh" sound. The arrow marks at the compass points around the fortress appear to be important locations, perhaps corresponding to the two other small islands on either side of the fortress. If so, that means you may be able to rotate the fortress so that you could reach them. To do that, though, you'll have to find the real fortress rotator. Pull the left lever again and the walkway will once again move a little bit to the right. Thus, the left lever is used to "lock" and "unlock" the walkway from an arrow. The right lever is used for moving the walkway to whichever arrow you want. Use the levers to rotate the simulated fortress to each of the four arrows, and you'll discover that each point will make a distinct sound when the walkway is lined up with it. Here are the four sounds: north: "dink" east: "skroing" south: "dunk" west: "skree" Obviously these sounds must play some important role in the real rotation of the fortress, so make sure that you know the sounds that correspond to each direction. Once you're done using the simulator, step away from it, and it will automatically shut off. Below and to the right of the simulator, you'll see a small depression in the wall with a yellow stripe through it, much like the one in the luxurious room. Touch it, and it too will slide up, revealing another hidden storage room. This room, however, contains some very different things than the first one. To the right of the door is a bloody hatchet in a block of wood, and to the left is a wooden chest. Slide the lid open, and you'll find a rotting corpse! Whoever used this room had some serious problems! There's a shelf filled with bottles and vials marked poisonous, and there's also a large metal cage, large enough for a man to stand in. On the left edge of the cage is a switch. Throw the switch and bolts of electricity will course through the bars of the cage for a split-second! Imagine what it'd be like to be inside that cage when the switch was thrown! Who could be interested in such horrible devices? It seems that you've found the lair of a murderer. Before you leave, however, examine the poison shelf one more time. On one shelf, you'll find a blue page! This is interesting. There was a red page in the luxurious room, along with the note from Achenar to Sirrus regarding Sirrus's greed. Now there's a blue page in this violent room. The evidence seems to suggest that the rooms where the red and blue pages have been found belong to the occupants of the same colored Books. That would mean that Sirrus, who is in the Red Book, is a proud, wealthy, and greedy man, while Achenar is murderous and sadistic. Perhaps they should stay in those Books, but maybe you can learn more about them by inserting more pages into their Books. They might tell you more about themselves, or about what's going on with Atrus and Catherine. If you've already picked up the red page, though, don't touch the blue page yet. If you try to take it, the red page will disappear and go back to the luxurious, or should you say, Sirrus's room! This means that you can only carry one page at a time, so you might as well keep the red page you already have. =============================================================================== 4. Fortress Rotation [IV.B.4] =============================================================================== After thoroughly exploring the violent room and becoming familiar with the fortress rotation simulator, leave through the door you came in by (the other door goes back to the fortress entrance) and return to the short hallway you passed by earlier. It leads to an orange tube, which looks like an elevator, with the entrance blocked by a glass door. At the entrance to this passage is a red button. Push it and the floor of the hallway will sink down to form a staircase, much like the library bookshelf on Myst. The stairs lead to a small chamber with a large pillar in the center, directly underneath the orange tube. In front of the pillar is a display and a lever. The display shows two circles, one inside the other. Each circle contains a gap, giving them a horseshoe shape. The outer circle's gap is facing forward, and the inner one's is facing back. If you consider it carefully, you'll see that this must be a diagram of the orange tube above. The outer circle is the outside wall, with the door open. The inner circle must be the elevator car, which is not lined up with the outside door. Pull the lever and the pillar in front of you will start rotating, as will the inner circle on the display. When the two circles are lined up, they will turn red, so let go of the lever. Go back up the stairs and you'll see that the glass is no longer blocking access into the tube, but you can't get across to it because the floor is currently a staircase. That can easily be remedied by pressing the red button again, which will allow you to cross the floor and enter the elevator. The elevator controls consist of three buttons: an up arrow, a down arrow, and a bar in the middle. If you push the down arrow, nothing will happen; you're on the bottom floor. Push the middle button and the elevator will go up, then stop between floors. Why would it do that? Push the up arrow and it will continue up to a second floor. Exit the elevator and look around. There doesn't appear to be much up here. In fact, it's a completely empty room. Why would Atrus build an elevator that went to an empty room? Go around behind the elevator and you'll see a window, and through the window you'll be able to see lots of gears. Perhaps there's some way you can operate those gears. Returning to the elevator, you'll see that there's an arrow pointing up above the door. It seems to indicate that there's something on top of the elevator. But how can you find out what? Go back in the elevator and press the middle button again. This time, instead of immediately going down, the button will flash and let out several beeps before the door shuts and descends to the area between floors. This could be the way to reach whatever is on top of the elevator! Return to the top floor, then press the middle button again. Quickly, while the button is still beeping, jump out of the elevator! When it descends, the roof of the elevator will be left sticking out into the room, and on it is another pillar like the rotation simulator! Walk up to it, and you'll see that it has the same two levers, but no display screen, so you can't see where the walkway actually is. Also, there's a red button beneath the levers, which will raise the elevator so that you can leave. This must be the real fortress rotator, not a mere simulator. Now, it's time to see if you can rotate the fortress to one of the other islands. Remembering how the levers work, pull the left lever to unlock the walkway, then the right lever to start rotating the fortress. You'll be able to see the gears in the window start to rotate, meaning that you are rotating the fortress. Remember from the simulator that the fortress will be rotating counter-clockwise, and try to remember about how long it took to move the walkway from one point to the next. From the map in Atrus's journal, you know that the two other islands are to the north and the east, so try to get the fortress rotated so that the walkway is extended to the north. Remember, you'll hear a "ding" when it's aligned correctly. If you're having trouble, practice some more on the simulator on the first floor. Once you get it, press the red button to raise the elevator and head for the exit. On your way out, though, go through the luxurious room and look through the telescope. You couldn't see anything through it at first, but now that the fortress has rotated, you'll see a skeleton hanging from the mast of a sunken ship! Who could that be? Maybe he was a casualty of the battle Atrus described in his journal. Once you've seen the skeleton, head for the exit. =============================================================================== 5. The Pedestal Combination [IV.B.5] =============================================================================== When you get outside, you'll see that the walkway is now leading to a different, much smaller island. You'll also be able to see another, slightly larger island to your right. Cross the walkway and climb up the short set of stairs to reach a platform on top of the island which contains a pedestal. On the pedestal are two symbols, aligned on the left side of its face; the first shaped like a horseshoe, the second two narrow triangles on either side of a vertical bar. You should recognize these symbols as some of the symbols in the pedestal on the south island. These symbols must be part of the code for that pedestal! The fact that they're on the left-hand side indicates that they are the first part of the code. Now you just need to find the second part and you can see what the code unlocks. The other half of the code is likely be on the other island, so go back inside the fortress and return to the fortress rotator. This time, you want to rotate the fortress to the east (that's the "swoosh" sound). Once you've gotten it, leave the fortress again and you'll have connected to the other island. Climb up the stairs and come to the platform at the top. It, too, has a pedestal, and this pedestal has two more symbols on the right-hand side: three short triangles with a circle above them, and a semicircle. Now that you've got the whole code, it's time to enter it into the pedestal on the south island, where you arrived. Go back to the top of the fortress and rotate it to the south ("dunk"). Cross the walkway back to the island and enter the code into the pedestal. Push the large, red button, and the metal walkway beside the pedestal will sink down to form a staircase, revealing an underground room. Go down the stairs to enter a small chamber, in the center of which is a small platform. On the platform is a book with a cover reading "Myst", almost identical to the first one you found. Open it, and inside you'll find another moving window, this one focused on the ceiling of the library. Press your hand against the image, and a few seconds later, you'll be standing in the library on Myst Island. =============================================================================== 6. Sirrus and Achenar [IV.B.6] =============================================================================== Well, you're back, and it's been an informative trip. You've learned a lot about Sirrus and Achenar, and now you have a red page with you. You should insert it into the Red Book, and see if Sirrus will give you any new information. Place the red page into the Red Book, and Sirrus will speak to you again. The image is still very blurry, but you can hear him a bit better than you could last time. Here is what he has to say: "You've returned ... thank you for bringing the red page ... you must continue to help ... my name is Sirrus ... please, I beg you to find the remaining red pages, you must release ... release me from this Book, which has become ... bring ... I need more red pages, please ... I beg ... don't waste time, look ... don't take ... my brother ... my brother is guilty ... and I wrongfully imprisoned ... bring the red page to me ..." Basically, Sirrus begs you to bring him more red pages. He mentions, however, that his "brother is guilty... and I wrongfully imprisoned". According to Sirrus, Achenar committed some horrible crime, but he was punished for it. Now you know how they ended up in the Books: it was a punishment, a prison sentence. However, Sirrus feels that he has been imprisoned unjustly, and wants you to bring him red pages to help him escape.Perhaps you should return to the Mechanical Age and bring back the blue page, so you can see what Achenar has to say about this. Getting the blue page is simple. Link back to the Mechanical Age and go to the violent room. Enter the secret chamber and take the blue page from the shelf. Leave the fortress and look at the combination pedestal. The combination is still entered, so just push the red button to access the Myst Book and link back. Place the blue page inside the Blue Book, and Achenar will appear with a new message: "You've returned ... you wouldn't return ... the blue pages to rescue me ... I'm Achenar ... don't bring them to my brother, I beg you ... to be complete ... always blue pages ... do not listen to him ... Do not listen to my brother ... an egotistical fool and a liar! Bring me the blue pages ... not the red pages, don't bring the red ones! ... let me implore you ... I've been wrongly imprisoned, you must ... I will have my retribution. Please, bring me the blue pages ... blue pages, please ..." This is very interesting. Along with almost constant pleas for more blue pages, Achenar repeats Sirru's accusation almost exactly: he says that Sirrus committed the crime and that he has been wrongfully imprisoned! Something fishy is going on here. Also, calling Sirrus an "egotistical fool and a liar" seems to show that Achenar doesn't hold his brother in very high esteem. Now you know for a fact, though, that at least one of them is lying, since they can't both be wrongfully imprisoned. As you continue to explore the rest of Atrus's Ages, your job is to figure out which one is lying, and you are now going to have to filter through their messages to determine what is true and what is not. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | C. SELENITIC AGE [IV.C] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. Accessing Selenitic Age [IV.C.1] =============================================================================== The next Age you should visit is the Selenitic Age, so before you begin to access it, it might not be a bad idea to reread, or at least skim, its journal. This will allow you to have some idea of what to expect when you reach the Age. The Selenitic journal is the blue book on the left side of the middle shelf. Once you are ready to begin searching for the Selenitic Age, go to the tower rotation map again. If you recall, the line turned red at four points, so that's probably how many Ages there are. The beam should now be focused on the giant gears, but we want to rotate it somewhere else now. Put your hand on the tower icon and hold it until the line turns red on the rocket. You'll again hear a noise of heavy machinery moving, then it will stop. Touch the picture of the bookshelf to open the secret passageway and follow it to the elevator, then ride up to the tower. Climb up the book ladder and look out of the window. You'll see the rocket down below you. Climb down and go around to the key ladder. On the wall above that ladder will be another plaque with this written on it: 59 VOLTS This must be the access key for the Selenitic Age Book, but where should you use it? If you explored the small brick room past the pillars and basin, you'll know that it led to a generator room, where you could control the output of electricity of the generators. You should go there now. When you reach the generator room, you'll see that the control panel consists of two dials and 10 red buttons. Each button adds a certain amount of voltage, which will raise the needle on both meters. Next to the door is a piece of paper with a diagram of the control panel with "POWER" over the first dial, "POWER TO SHIP" over the second dial, and "GENERATOR CONTROLS" over the ten buttons. Apparently, you need to get the second dial to 59 volts. Before you try to do it, though, press each button individually to see how much power they add, because each one adds a different amount. Then try different combinations, trying to find one that adds up to 59 volts. However, be very careful! If you go over 59 volts, you'll trip the breaker switch. The second dial, the "power to ship" dial, will overload and go back to zero, and you'll have to reset the circuit breaker. To do that, leave the generator room and climb up one of the brick towers next to the generator room or near the rocket, then flip the switch that's on top. Then you can return to the generator room to try again. The following chart shows the voltage of each button and the easiest, but not only, way to get 59 volts: (Press the buttons marked with an X; the voltage of each button is listed next to them.) _ _ |_|10 |_| 1 |_| 7 |X| 2 |_| 8 |X|22 |X|16 |X|19 |_| 5 |_| 9 Once you've gotten the dials set to 59 volts, leave the generator room and go to the rocket. Touch the door, and it will now open. Inside, the rocket is mostly bare, except for two devices on opposite ends of the rocket. On the left, in the nose of the rocket, is a machine of some sort. Walk up to it and you'll see that it consists of a blank porthole window, with five sliders and one lever underneath. If you move the sliders, you'll hear that they will produce a series of tones gradually increasing or decreasing in pitch. Basically, each position of the slider plays a different note. The lever on the right plays back the notes of all five sliders. Obviously this is another strange locking mechanism. At the opposite end of the rocket, is, of all things, an organ. (This place just gets weirder and weirder by the minute.) It has one small keyboard, and its range is exactly the same as the sliders. Obviously you've got to find the right combination of notes to set the sliders to, but what are they? And what is the organ for? The answer is in the library. If you read the Selenitic Age journal, you'll remember that there was a diagram of a keyboard at the end of it. Turn to the last page of the journal, and you'll find the diagram, which has five keys colored orange, with the numbers 1-5 below them: ________________________________________________________________ | | || ||#| |#| || | |#| || || | |#| ||#| | | || || | | | || | | | | || ||#| |#| || | |#| || || | |#| ||#| | | || || | | | || | | | |_||_||#| |#|_||_| |#|_||_||_| |#|_||#| | |_||_||_| | |_||_| | | | | | |##| | |##| | | |##| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |##| | |##| | | |##| | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__|__|##|__|__|##|__|__|__|##|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__| 5 1 4 2 3 This must be the solution to the puzzle! Go back to the rocket and play the note marked "1" on the organ. Listen carefully to its tone, then go to the sliders and set the first slider to that same note. If you're not confident in the accuracy of your ear, you can also count how far up the keyboard each note is (white and black notes), then move the corresponding slider that many notches up from the bottom. For example, the first note is the eighth note on the keyboard, so you would move the first slider eight notches up from the bottom. Once the first slider has been set to the first note, return to the organ and play the second note, then find it on the second slider. Repeat this process until you have all five notes on the sliders, and you're sure that they're all correct. Then pull the lever. It will play back all five notes, then, if you've entered them all correctly, a Book will appear in the window! Touch the window and you'll open the Book, filling the window with the Book's moving image. You've found the Selenitic Age Book. Whenever you're ready, touch the viewport to link to the Selenitic Age! =============================================================================== 2. Five Sounds [IV.C.2] =============================================================================== When you link, everything will go black, then you'll reappear in another rocket! It looks the same as the one on Myst, but the viewport is blank and none of the sliders work; neither does the organ. Exit the rocket, and you'll see that you are most definitely not on Myst anymore. You'll see a brown, desolate world before you with many walls and crater rings. The rocket is connected to the mainland by a brick walkway identical to the one on Myst. At its end, you will meet a dirt path. Follow the path and you'll soon come to a structure on your right. It's a tiny brick building, only large enough to serve as a storage room or as access to an elevator or staircase. The metal door is decorated with a design of curved rays coming out from a central point, and it is locked. The locking device is a panel next to the door that consists of five sliders, a speaker, and a yellow button. If you move the sliders you'll hear that they will emit a variety of sounds. You'll need to discover the correct combination of sounds in order to unlock the door. After examining the lock, continue down the path. After continuing down the path from the locked door, another dirt path will branch off to the left. Take the new path and it will lead up a hill, which, unlike everywhere else in this world, is green, with grass and growing trees. Several benches have also been placed along the path, most likely in order to rest and enjoy this oasis. At the top of the hill is a brick podium. On the podium is a red button, with a design of drops falling into water above it. Look up and you'll see that the podium is the base of a tall, brick tower, with some sort of transmission dish on top. Also attached to the tower is a black metal rod, with a black, spherical object that looks like a speaker or microphone on the other end. The device is suspended over a man-made pool of water, which then flows over a small waterfall, creating a pleasant tinkling sound. When you push the red button on the podium, the water drop design will light up and a red light will turn on in the center of the black sphere. Apparently you just turned something on. The black sphere seems to be a microphone that is picking up the sound of the water flowing, then feeding the signal into the tower. From the tower, it seems that the signal is being beamed somewhere else by the dish. However, where the signal is being transmitted to and what its purpose is is unclear. Before you leave the hill, there is one more important thing. There is a bench near the podium, and a blue page is resting on it. Interestingly, this page is in a peaceful, calm area, whereas the blue page in the Mechanical Age was found in the dirty, creepy room filled with weapons. Leave the blue page for now and plan to take the red page when you find it, as doing so will save you a little bit of time later on. After you've turned on the microphone and found the blue page, return to the main path and turn left to continue on. The path will now approach the ocean, and you'll be able to see a small island with a large metal tower on it. On the tower are several dishes just like the one at the pool! That tower must be where the signals are received! Hopefully, as you explore this Age, you'll find a way to get there. As you near the coast, another path will branch off to the left. Follow it, and the temperature will rise as you climb several sets of brick stairs and finally come to a dead end overlooking a deep chasm with intense heat and flames inside, the same one described in Atrus's journal. Also, at the end of the path is another podium and transmitter, identical to the one by the pool, except that this one has a design of a crack in the earth with heat rising from it. Looking to the side of the railing, you'll be able to see another microphone hanging over the chasm, capturing the roaring sound emanating from it. Push the button to turn on the microphone and dish, then return to the main path and turn left. As you continue, you'll see and hear a clock tower chiming to the right of the path, but as you come closer you'll realize that this clock is in serious need of repair. There are pendulums and gears strewn about in front of the clock, and its chimes and ticks are erratic. It is about the same size as the one on Myst, but it is made of brick and has a different design. Actually, it appears to be the real-life counterpart to the model clock you saw Sirrus's room in the Mechanical Age! Beside the path in front of the clock is a third podium, transmitter, and microphone hanging in front of the clock. This podium has a design of a clock face on it. Push the red button to turn on the microphone and continue down the path. As you continue down the path you'll notice that it's beginning to get narrower, and you'll find that you're on a narrow strip of land that forms an almost-enclosed ring around the central island with the tower. However, you should also notice yet another path branching off to the right. Follow it, and you'll be in for a sight. The path will lead you through a formation of transparent blue crystals jutting out from the water. As the path meanders among the crystals you'll notice that the crystals alter the sound of the wind as it blows through them, creating a low whistling sound, similar to blowing over the lid of an empty bottle. At the end of the path is a fourth podium and transmitter, with another microphone picking up the sound of the whistling wind. Push the button, and the design, which resembles one of the crystals, will light up, indicating that the microphone has been turned on. Before you turn to go, look on top of the podium. You will find the red page resting there, and you should take it. Make sure that you have it before you leave, since that's what you're here for anyway -- to find the red and blue pages so you can find out what has happened to Atrus, Catherine, Sirrus, and Achenar, and to decide who you should free. After you've turned on the microphone and taken the red page, return to the main path and turn right, following the curving strip of land until you come to the end. At the very end of the path is a ladder leading down a hole into the ground. There is a tremendous amount of wind coming out of the tunnel, and you can easily hear it rushing upwards. Behind the tunnel is a fifth podium and transmitter, with a microphone hanging over the hole. Also, next to the hole are the remains of a woden dock that has been destroyed; a few planks are still floating in the water. Once you've pressed the button on the podium to turn on the microphone and transmitter, climb down the ladder into the hole. When you reach the bottom of the ladder, you'll be in a rocky tunnel. The tunnel itself will be dark, but there will be enough light from above for you to see a switch on the wall beside the ladder. Flip it to turn on a series of lights, illuminating the tunnel. Unfortunately, the sudden increase in brightness will awake and frighten a large number of bats in the tunnel, causing them to fly straight towards you and out of the tunnel! Once the bats are gone, go down the tunnel, which is straight and fairly short. At the end, you'll find an identical ladder, which leads up to the central island. =============================================================================== 3. The Radio Tower [IV.C.3] =============================================================================== After you emerge from the tunnel, climb the stairs to reach the base of the giant tower you've been able to see from the main island. At the tower's base are two metal doors, with the same design on them as the locked door near the rocket. Open the doors to reveal a control panel. The panel has a square video screen on the left side, displaying a view of the island. There's a digital display underneath the screen, which currently reads 000.0. Next to the video screen is a speaker, which is sounding a buzz, and two arrow buttons, pointing left and right. On the bottom of the panel are five more buttons, each with the design from one of the podiums on them. The first button, the one with the design from the pool on it, is pressed and lit. Finally, beneath the five buttons is one final button; a large one with the Greek letter sigma on it. Now, you have to figure out how this device works and what it's for. Press one of the arrow buttons, and the view in the screen will start to rotate. This will also cause the numbers in the display to change. In fact, by holding down the arrow buttons, you'll see that the numbers range from 000.0 to 359.9, which means that it shows, in degrees, what direction the display is pointing. Apparently the arrow buttons rotate something on the tower. If you press one of the buttons with the designs on them, the screen will jump back to 000.0, and you can set all five buttons to point a different direction. That means that there are five different things on the tower that you can rotate. There are five dishes on top of the tower, and there were five microphones and transmission dishes scattered across the Age. You need to rotate each dish so that it is pointing at the transmission dish corresponding to it. Press the button for the pool again, and try to find the pool's dish on the video screen. When you get within 5 degrees of it, you'll start to hear the sound of trickling water, the sound being transmitted from the dish at the pool, through the static, and one of the arrow buttons will start to flash, indicating what direction you should turn to get closer to the sound. Now adjust the dish slowly and carefully, no more than a few tenths of a degree at a time, until you have the tower dish lined up exactly with the dish at the pool, at which point the sound will come through the speaker clearly. You should be find that spot to be at 153.4 degrees. Now, you should try to align the other dishes, and see what happens. Press the next button, the one with the chasm's design on it, and the image in the screen will change, since its dish isn't pointing in the same direction. Rotate its dish until you've gotten it perfectly aligned, and continue to do the same for the other three locations on the island. Once you're through, you should have the dishes pointing in the following directions: pool: 153.4 degrees chasm: 130.3 broken clock: 55.6 crystals: 15.0 wind tunnel: 212.2 Once all five tower dishes are pointed at their companion transmitting dishes, try the sigma button. Press it, and the screen and speaker will quickly shift to five different directions. You'll notice that the directions are the ones that each button is set to, though they are shown in random order. The order is: crystals, pool, wind tunnel, chasm, broken clock. What could be the significance of this? Notice that along with the image of each location, you will also hear the sound from each location. Is there somewhere where five sounds played in order could be useful? You should think of the locked building near the rocket. The lock consisted of five sliders that could be set to a variety of sounds. The sigma button has just given you the combination to that lock! Once you have the order, close the doors over the control panel, go back through the tunnel, and make your way back to the door near the rocket. =============================================================================== 4. Underground Tunnels [IV.C.4] =============================================================================== Once you reach the door, approach the locking panel next to it again. Moving the sliders will cause a variety of different sounds to be emitted from the speaker on the panel. Using the sequence from the radio tower, move the first slider until it emits the low whistling sound you heard while walking through the crystals. Once you've got it, move the second slider until you find the rippling, tinkling sound you heard near the pool. Do this with all five sliders until each slider is set to the correct sound. Once they are all set, press the red button, which will turn yellow. All five sounds will play in order, then, if the combination is right, the button will turn green. Step back and the wheels beside the door will turn, and finally the door will slide open. Through the door you will find a set of stairs. As you descend, the door will shut behind you, and you'll begin to hear sounds of steam pipes and machinery, which will increase until you're facing a metal door with a lit button in its center. Press the button and the door will open, revealing a circular room with a metal catwalk leading to and encircling a strange craft. It is orange, short, and stubby, with a closed door facing you, suspended above a hole in the center of the room. A large number of pipes and other mechanical equipment cover the walls and floor of the room. Walk up to the craft and press the blue button beside the door, and it will open. Inside, sit down at the cockpit of the craft. You can see out through a round window, and in front of you is a fairly simple control panel. In the center are four long buttons: a green "FORWARD" button, left and right-pointing arrow buttons, and a red "BACKTRACK" button; only the FORWARD button is lit. On either side of the main buttons are a speaker with an unlit red light in its center, and a compass that is currently displaying "N". Once you've examined the controls, press the only button that works: the FORWARD button. Once you press FORWARD, the craft will begin to descend into the hole it is suspended over, lowering through a tunnel cut in the rock. The craft will also rotate, causing the compass to rotate through the 8 directions N, NE, E, SE, and so on as well. After descending for several seconds, the craft will finally enter a large cavern and come to a stop facing a metal track leading into blackness. Once you land on the track, the light on the speaker will blink and the speaker will make a "dink" sound, which should sound a little familiar. Also, the other buttons on the panel will light up. If you press the arrow buttons, you will rotate 45 degrees, and the compass will show you which direction you're currently facing. The red BACKTRACK button will apparently take you back up to the main room above. As you rotate around, you'll notice that the section of track you're on will rotate to connect to other tracks leading in each direction, but they are all blocked. This means the north track is the only way you can go, so rotate back to the north track and press the FORWARD button. When you press the button, the craft will follow the perfectly straight track until it arrives at another "junction" exactly like the last one. This time, the speaker will make a "skree" sound, and the only track open is the one facing west. You should recognize the sounds the speaker is making as the same ones made by the fortress rotator in the Mechanical Age, which corresponded to different directions. If you recall, the speaker made a "dink" when you landed at the first junction, where you had to go north, and a "skree" when you arrived at this junction, where you have to go west. These are the same sounds made by the fortress rotator to indicate that the fortress is facing north and west, respectively! The sound emitted from the speaker tells you which way to go, and this craft uses the same sounds as the fortress rotator! Rotate so you are facing west and go forward to reach a third junction, where you will be presented with more than one available track. At this junction, the speaker will make a "dink" sound again, so you know to go north. Use this code to make your way through the maze of tunnels underneath the Selenitic Age. Here are the sounds corresponding to each direction: north: "dink" east: "skroing" south: "dunk" west: "skree" Eventually, the speaker will emit two sounds at once, which means you should go in the direction formed by combining the direction for each sound. For example, if you get a "dunk" and a "swoosh" simultaneously, which stand for south and east, you should go southeast. If you go the wrong way, the speaker won't make any noise, and you can use the BACKTRACK button to return to the last correct junction. Using the sounds to guide you through the tunnels, you should follow this path: N W N E E S S W SW W NW NE N SE Once you take the final southeast track, you'll enter a manmade tunnel which will zigzag for a while before coming to a stop beside a door. Exit the craft and go through the door, which leads to a hallway with another door at its end. You'll emerge in another room identical to the one that the craft was originally in, except that instead of the craft suspended over a hole in the center of the room, there's a podium with a Myst Book on it. Open it and you'll see the same view that was in the Myst Book on the Mechanical Age: the ceiling of the library back on the island of Myst. =============================================================================== 5. Sirrus and Achenar [IV.C.5] =============================================================================== Once you're back in the library, it's time to find out if Sirrus and Achenar have anything new to say. Insert the red page you brought with you into the Red Book, then turn to the viewing window. Like last time, the picture will contain slightly less static, and you'll be able to hear a little bit more of what Sirrus says: "Ah, you have returned ... an additional page ... free from my prison on this forgotten island of Myst ... I see that you are ... I am called Sirrus ... I need other red pages, I know ... you must search, bring ... two more of the red pages ... I am released, I promise ... I warn you, don't touch the blue pages ... that is where my brother, where my wicked brother, Achenar ... he's a man of distorted mind and senses. He disgusts me ... do not release Achenar first or destruction is nigh ... never-ending ... bring the red pages ... I beg you please, release me from this prison. I promise you will be greatly rewarded ... you must help me ... to help me ..." Most significant in this message is Sirrus's statement that there are only two more red pages left to find. That seems to imply there are only two more Ages left to explore, as well, since so far you have only found one page in each Age. It is also interesting to hear what Sirrus has to say about his brother: "He's a man of distorted mind and senses. He disgusts me. Do not release Achenar first or destruction is nigh." His promise that you will be "greatly rewarded" if you help him is also intriguing, and seems to confirm that Sirrus was wealthy, and that the luxurious room in the Mechanical Age did belong to him. Now to hear what Achenar has to say. Go back to the spaceship and touch the window again to return to the Selenitic Age. Take the blue page from the bench by the pool, then go back to the locked door and press the button to unlock it. Return to the craft and navigate the underground maze again to reach the Linking Book back to Myst. Once you're back, insert the blue page into the Blue Book and turn to the window. This is what Achenar will say to you: "You're back, good ... just two more blue pages ... bring more, I must have some more ... that's all I ask of you. Long, it's been so long since my brother Sirrus wrongfully imprisoned me within this Book! Stupid schemes! ... pretty speech ... greed which is endless! What should be perfectly obvious to you ... he is evil and he has destroyed all but four ... do not bring the red pages to him ... do not let him trick you ... he tricked our father ... hideously murdered our father! He'll trick you, he'll murder you. Don't touch the red pages ... please, I beg you to bring the blue pages ... to me. Listen, you must obey me ... blue pages are my only hope ... you must help me, you must help me ..." Achenar will repeat Sirrus's statement that you only need two more pages, so that fact is probably true. He'll also mention that there are only four Ages remaining, which most likely correspond to the four locations the tower can be rotated to. Achenar will also state his belief that Sirrus is greedy and treacherous, so it appears that the two brothers hate each other and blame each other for their predicament. Towards the end of his speech, Achenar will tell you that Sirrus has murdered their father, Atrus! This is big news, if it is true. However, you have no way of knowing if that is true, or if Achenar can be trusted. Now, it is time to embark upon the next stage of your quest, and to access the third remaining Age of Myst. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | D. STONESHIP AGE [IV.D] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. Accessing Stoneship Age [IV.D.1] =============================================================================== As with the Selenitic Age, your first step in accessing the Stoneship Age should be to reread its journal. From reading it, you will learn that the Stoneship Age consists of small rocky islands in a vast sea, and that Atrus attempted to write a ship into the Age, but the ship became fused to the island, giving the Age its name. To get to the Stoneship Age, as with the previous Ages, you need to know where it is and what its access key is, so you need to rotate the tower. Go over to the map in the library and study it. You've found the Books in the gears and the rocket; the other two places are the sunken ship and the giant tree, which probably correspond to the Stoneship and Channelwood Ages. Rotate the tower so that it's facing towards the sunken ship, then press the bookshelf picture to open the passageway to the tower elevator. Use the elevator to reach the tower, then climb the book ladder. Look down through the window and you'll be looking down on the dock, so you know that the book is somewhere over there. Climb down and walk around the room to the key ladder. On the wall is another plaque, which reads: OCTOBER 11, 1984 10:04 AM JANUARY 17, 1207 5:46 AM NOVEMBER 23, 9791 6:57 PM The plaque lists three precise dates and times, spanning almost 9,000 years! Where could these be used? If you've looked in the planetarium, you have seen the device that allows you to input dates and times up to the minute, just like these dates are. That means that the planetarium is your next destination. When you enter the planetarium, make sure to turn off the lights so that you can see the stars on the ceiling, then sit down in the chair and pull the device down so that you can operate it. Use the sliders and the arrow buttons to input the first date: October 11, 1984, 10:04 AM, then push the button to the left of the window. Through the window you'll see the stars overhead moving around until they stop, leaving a pattern of stars visible through the window. This must be the pattern that is visible on this particular day at this particular time. The stars in the window appear to be a constellation, but of what? Where can you find out what this star pattern means? In the back of the Stoneship journal were pictures of several constellations that Atrus had seen on that Age, so these may be some of them. Input the other two dates to see two more constellations. Once you've gotten all three, go back to the library and look in the journal. From the journal, you should be able to learn that the constellations you saw in the planetarium are a leaf, a snake, and an insect. Now, what do you do with a leaf, a snake, and an insect? Do you remember the pillars beside the path leading from the library, with the stands in front of them? Each of the stands had a picture on it, and touching the picture caused its color to change from red to green. Examine them now and you'll find that there are eight stands, and each one has one of the figures of a constellation on it! This must be the solution! Since all the pictures were originally red, you should probably turn the three from the planetarium green. Make sure all the pictures are red, then touch the leaf, snake, and insect pictures, so that those three turn green. Once you touch the last one, you'll hear a noise, and the model ship in the basin will float to the surface. There will also be a much stronger sound, which will take longer to stop. Go to the dock and you'll see that the sunken ship has risen to the surface as well! Climb on board and you'll see a door in the stern of the ship. Open it to reveal a tiny room, with only enough room for one chair inside it. Sitting on the chair is the Stoneship Book.Touch the image to link to the Stoneship Age. =============================================================================== 2. Let There Be Light [IV.D.2] =============================================================================== After the link has been made, you'll be standing on the deck of a ship, which is attached to a rocky island. It's raining, and the sky is gray with storm clouds. As you look around, you'll see that you're only on the aft section of the ship, and that the forward part is to your right. The ship has been broken in half, and each half is attached to the rock, just as Atrus described it in the journal. Once you get oriented, take a look around. Straight ahead is a doorway leading down into the rock, and to the right of it is a short path leading to the other half of the ship. To your left is a narrow plank extending out over the ocean and leading to what appears to be a crow's nest sticking out of the water, covered by an umbrella. Very odd. Behind you is a staircase leading into the cabin. However, if you try to go down it, you'll find that the stairs are flooded. Walk over to the doorway in the island and you'll find that it's flooded, too. You're going to need to find some way to get rid of this water if you want to explore this Age. Carefully walk across the planks to the umbrella-covered crow's nest and you'll find that it contains three buttons. Before you push any of them, however, let's explore the rest of the Age. Walk across to the other half of the ship and you'll find another doorway leading into the rock, but it too is flooded. There's also a walkway that spirals up the island, leading to a telescope at the very top. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to reveal anything that stands out. The last landmark left on this world seems to be the lighthouse that Atrus built. He mentioned in his journal that it was slowly sinking, and that sinking has obviously continued. By now, only the top room of the lighthouse is still above water. You can enter the lighthouse through a broken window, and you'll be standing on a wooden platform over more water. The lighthouse has flooded, too. There are several strange things in here, though. A ladder at the far end leads up to a hatch, but it's padlocked. For some reason, a key is chained to the platform, but it's far too short to reach the padlock. Since there doesn't seem to be anything else to do, head back to the crow's nest and see what those buttons do. At the crow's nest, push the first button, and you'll hear a pumping sound. Return to the ship and you'll see that the stairs leading down to the cabin have been drained! However, when you open the door at the end, you'll emerge in a room that's too dark to see in. You'll have to come back here after you can get some light in here. Go back to the crow's nest and push the middle button. Now the tunnels leading into the rock will be dry, but they are pitch black, so you can't see what's down there, either. That leaves the last button. Push it, then return to the lighthouse. When you enter the lighthouse this time, you'll see that the water has been pumped out, and there's a staircase leading down. Walk down until you reach the bottom. There you'll find a small chest on the floor. It's locked, but there's a spigot on the side of it. Turn it, and water will flow out. The chest had been full of water, but there must be something else inside, since there's no point in leaving an empty chest at the bottom of the lighthouse. Perhaps if you could get the chest up to the top of the lighthouse, the key chained to the platform could unlock it. Well, the chest is wooden, so it should float. All you would have to do is make it watertight, and luckily, you can. Close the spigot to seal the chest watertight, then press the button in the crow's nest again to pump the water back in. Return to the lighthouse and the chest will be floating on the surface next to the platform you're standing on. Use the key on the floor to unlock the chest, which contains another key. Use this key to unlock the padlock on the hatch. You can now climb up into the top of the lighthouse. In the top room you can get a good view of Stoneship, but more important is the black device on the floor. Walk up to it, and you'll see that it's a hand-powered generator connected to a battery. The meter on the battery show's that it's empty right now, so turn the generator handle until the battery is fully charged. Now, what does this battery power? Exit the lighthouse and look back up at it. You'll see that the light on top is now shining, and that there are two wires exiting the top room of the lighthouse. Follow the wires and you'll see that they lead into the two tunnels. Walk up to one and you'll see that while still flooded, there's a light on inside. Now you can explore the tunnels; all you have to do is drain the water from the tunnels. Go to the crow's nest and push the middle button to drain the water from the tunnels, then enter the tunnel by the stern of the ship (where you arrived). =============================================================================== 3. The Brothers' Bedrooms [IV.D.3] =============================================================================== The tunnel is a slowly spiraling staircase that leads deep down into the rock. At the bottom, you'll come to a heavy, metal door with a button in the center of it. The door looks waterproof, which it would need to be, since this passageway was flooded just a minute ago. Press the button in the center of the door and it will open, revealing an exquisitely decorated bedroom. The room has wood-paneled walls and floors, with a large, beautiful rug in the center. A huge, luxurious bed rests at the far end of the room. It should remind you of Sirrus's room in the Mechanical Age, so this room probably belongs to Sirrus as well. If that's so, then you can expect to find a red page somewhere in this room. Make sure to examine the room carefully. On the left side of the room is a chest of drawers, containing items such as coins, dishes, and flatware. Also, one of the drawers contains several rolls of fabric. You'll notice that one piece of cloth is sticking out from underneath the others. It's black, with a pattern of a crescent and cross on it. If you remember from the Mechanical Age journal, this was the design on the flags of the Black Ships that attacked the inhabitants of that Age! Was Sirrus somehow involved with the Black Ships? Finally, in the bottom drawer is a red page, confirming that this is Sirrus's room. Pick it up so that you can hear what Sirrus has to say once you get back to Myst. After you've examined the contents of the dresser, go over to the desk on the opposite side of the room. On the desk is a small black pillar with a grey ball on top. If you touch the ball, the pillar will fold down into four pieces, rotate 90 degrees, then fold back up; the motion is similar to the rotation of the fortress in the Mechanical Age. In the drawer of the desk is a syringe, along with some pills and bottles. It appears that Sirrus has some drug problems to deal with; no wonder he wants to get out of the Red Book so badly. After you've examined the room carefully and taken the red page, exit the room and climb back up the stairs so that you can explore the other tunnel. Before you go down the other tunnel, you may want to return to the lighthouse in order to recharge the battery, so that you won't run out of light while you're down there. Once you're sure that you've got plenty of power, head down the tunnel located by the forward part of the ship. This tunnel spirals down exactly the first one, and ends at an identical metal door. Press the green button to open it, and inside is another bedroom. This room, however, has a much different nature than the first one. Although this room also has wooden walls and floors, they are rougher and much more crudely decorated. On the left-hand side rests a large bed, but it is nothing but a filthy mattress and some dirty pillows, and the blue page is resting on it. This must be Achenar's room. Explore it as you did Sirrus's. In two corners of the room rest blue rugs much like the ones in Sirrus's room, but their finery seem out of place with the crudeness of the rest of the room; perhaps Achenar stole them. The room is lit by several swinging lamps, and also by a lamp inside a ribcage, flanked by strange wooden masks. On the right side of the room is another chest of drawers, with a metal device on top of it. Press the button on the device, and an image of a rose will appear in the air above it; this must be another holographic imager device. When you pull the lever across the base of the imager, though, the rose will slowly transform into a skull! After you've seen that sickening sight, find out what is in the drawers. When you open the drawers, you'll find that most of them contain maps of unrecognizable worlds. The next-to-last drawer contains something interesting, though: a piece of paper torn down the middle. This is what you can read of it: Marker Swit Island o The vault is loca the Island of M achieved very instructions are f each of the Marker Turn every one of "on" position. Th as a final step, tu there to th It seems to have something to do with the Marker Switches on Myst, from what you can make out. This note probably tells you something important, so you should keep an eye out for the other half of it as you continue your explorations. After you've read the torn note and explored the room, head back up the stairs. =============================================================================== 4. The Compass [IV.D.4] =============================================================================== As you climb the stairs, you'll come to a landing about half of the way up. If you look carefully at the wall panels, you'll see that one panel has a red square on it. Press the panel and it will slide up, revealing a passageway! Crawl through the opening, then walk down the metal hallway until you come to a circular, underwater room with a large compass design on the floor. The room has glass walls so that you can look out into the ocean, where you can see several different types of fish and other marine life swimming. You can also see several man-made objects in the water. They appear to be circular and are standing on two poles. If you recall, these look like the submersible lamps Atrus built for this Age, which he described in the Stoneship journal. If those are the lamps, then you should try to turn them on, so that you could see what is under the water. There's also another hallway leading out of the chamber, which leads to Sirrus's tunnel. Now look at the compass. The compass has points at all 16 directions, and a ring of buttons all around its rim. When you push one, though, all the lights will go out, and a loud alarm will start to sound! The only illumination will be from two blinking purple warning lights at the end of each hallway. Quickly leave the compass room and crawl through one of the exits, then make your way back outside. Go to the lighthouse and you'll see that the battery has been drained. Recharge it, then stop and try to figure out what happened. Apparently, you weren't supposed to push that particular button. But one of the buttons must do something, since they're not just there for decoration. Where could you find out which button to push? You haven't seen any clues here regarding buttons. However, perhaps the fact that the buttons surround a compass is important. Maybe the importance of the buttons is in which direction on the compass they correspond to. Now, have you seen anything here that could help you determine a specific point on the compass? How about the telescope? It has degrees marked on it. Perhaps you'll be able to see something through it that will indicate a specific direction. Climb up the spiraling walkway leading to the telescope and peer into it. Pan across the ocean, looking for anything that stands out. When the lighthouse comes into view, notice that the beacon on the lighthouse is directly underneath the 135 degrees mark. In fact, the blinking light of the lighthouse seems to be pointing at the 135 degrees mark. This may be what you need! Now you have to figure out which button 135 degrees corresponds to on the compass, which is going to require some basic math. Since the entire compass corresponds to 360 degrees, each cardinal direction represents an interval of 90 degrees. Since 135 is between 90 and 180, that means that it's somewhere between east and south. In fact, 135 is 45 degrees greater than 90, which means that it is exactly halfway between east and south, meaning that 135 degrees corresponds to southeast! Now you can return to the compass, and see what happens when you push the button corresponding to the southeast direction. When you push the button, light will flood into the room. Look out the windows and you will see that the submersible lamps outside are now on, and they will provide you with a much better view of the underwater life. However, surely they have a more important purpose than just lighting up fish. How can these lamps be of help to you? There's still one place in this Age you haven't been able to explore: the cabin. When you entered it the first time, it was so dark that you couldn't find your way around. These lamps may have just corrected that problem. Leave the compass room and go to the pump controls in the crow's nest. Press the first button to drain the stairs leading to the cabin. Now climb down the stairs in the aft section of the ship and open the door. The door will open to reveal a beautiful, wood-paneled underwater room. The room contains several windows which look out into the ocean, and now the submersible lamps provide plenty of light for the room. Descend the first set of stairs and look through the window on the landing. Here you can see a much bigger variety of marine life than you could from the compass room. If you want, you can just watch the fish, manta rays, glowing jellyfish, and other creatures as they swim by. Eventually, however, you'll need to go down the rest of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a largely empty space with a small desk in the center. Touch the top of the desk and the central part of the surface will rise up, transforming from wood into a Myst Book! What an incredible illusion! However it may have appeared, the Myst Book is very real, so use it to link back to the library. =============================================================================== 5. Sirrus and Achenar [IV.D.5] =============================================================================== Upon your return, take the red page you took from Sirrus's room and insert it into the Red Book. Turn back to the window page to hear what Sirrus has to say: "With each page I can see you more clearly. Soon ... free from this horrible prison, this Book. You must visit the one remaining Age, which you have not ... hundred, that you ... my brother Achenar is demented. He is guilty ... he took advantage of the freedom our father had given us ... Achenar did do ... I ask you again ... do not retrieve the blue pages ... he will destroy both myself and you just as he destroyed the other Ages of Myst ... never will escape ... you must simply bring the red pages ... his story that I ... he always does ... you will see that I am innocent, and he is guilty ... this forgotten island long ago ... I will owe you my life, and you will be greatly rewarded ..." The first thing you'll notice is that the image is not breaking up nearly as often as it had previously, so you can understand more of what he says. He apparently is noticing the same thing, since the first thing he'll tell you is that "with each page I can see you more clearly." He'll then tell you that there is one remaining Age for you to visit. Only one more Age means only one more page! You'll have to start thinking seriously about what you want to do about Sirrus and Achenar. In his now-familiar attack on Achenar, Sirrus will accuse Achenar of being responsible for destroying the Books; this is the first time one of the brothers has mentioned that incident as the reason for their imprisonment. Finally, Sirrus will once again promise you a reward for helping him escape, and from his rooms on the Mechanical and Stoneship Ages, you can believe that he could indeed reward you handsomely, if he so chose. Now to hear Achenar's side of things. Link back to Stoneship and press the second button at the pump controls to pump out the tunnels. Next, go to the lighthouse and power up the generator so that you'll have light. Now, go down the tunnel by the forward part of the ship to reach Achenar's room. Take the page from off of the bed and climb back up to the secret passage. Return to the compass and press the southeast button to turn the submersible lamps back on, since they only last as long as the lighthouse battery does. Now exit the tunnel, pump out the cabin (first button), and link back to Myst. Once you've returned, insert the page into the Blue Book and listen to Achenar: "Ah, my friend ... you bring me the blue pages ... I see ... convinced that Sirrus is guilty! Pray, do not release him ... he will destroy me, just as he ... innocent bystander, I've been wrongly tricked into a prisonmate! ... I think you have observed his unbridled lust for riches! ... in the four remaining worlds ... gruesome plot, it was almost perfect! ... the final blow to father, he tricked him into believing it was I who was the murderer. I didn't murder father ... bring me the remaining blue pages, please ... liar, fool and a liar ... must not be free ... remaining blue pages from the last Age of Myst. I must be free! You must free me ... I cannot bear it here for eternity! ... please, free me ... blue pages, blue pages, blue pages ..." Most of what Achenar has to say is repeated from his last message, notably his accusation that Sirrus murdered Atrus and that Sirrus is extremely greedy. You can't be sure if Achenar is telling the truth about Sirrus and Atrus or not, but Sirrus has not said anything about his father, which could be suspicious if you believe Achenar. However, from what you've seen Achenar is a demented man who revels in death and torture; not exactly the most trustworthy person one can imagine. However, he also mentions that there is only one Age remaining for you to explore, so without any further ado, it's time to visit the Channelwood Age. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | E. CHANNELWOOD AGE [IV.E] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. Accessing Channelwood Age [IV.E.1] =============================================================================== This routine should by now be familiar. To get ready for your journey to the final Age, you should start by reading the Channelwood Age journal, which is the green book on the left side of the top shelf in the library. Once you've finished, once again use the map in the library to rotate the tower to the one remaining location: the giant tree behind the log cabin. Once you've done that, touch the picture of the bookshelf and take the elevator to the tower. Inside the tower, climb up the book ladder and look through the narrow window to see the cabin and giant tree below you. Climb down and walk around to the key ladder. Climb up it and you'll find the final brass plate, with the final access key on it: 7, 2, 4 Where should you use these three numbers? Well, it has to have something to do with the giant tree or the cabin, since that's the place of protection, and by now they're the only structures on Myst that you haven't used in some way or another. So, head over to the cabin to investigate. Inside, there is a gas furnace on the far wall, but it's not lit. Turn around, however, and you'll see a safe set into the wall next to the door. Approach the safe and you'll see that it has a three digit combination. Enter 7, 2, 4 into the safe and pull the handle. Inside is a box of matches. That seems like a rather unusual thing to put in a safe, but it makes more sense if you consider the gas furnace on the other end of the room. Take out a match and strike it against the side of the box, then take it over to the furnace and insert it into the small opening on the bottom-left corner to ignite the pilot light. Now there's a flame burning in the furnace, but it still doesn't seem like anything's happening. The furnace must not have any gas in it. However, there is a red wheel on the wall next to the furnace. Turn the wheel, then watch as the P. S. I. gauge on the furnace goes up and as flames appear inside the furnace. Soon after the furnace starts operating, you should hear a loud "CLUNK" sound from outside. Leave the cabin, and you'll hear that the sound is coming from behind it. Head towards the sound, as as you approach the giant tree you'll see that each "clunk" sound is actually the entire tree ascending several feet! You will also see an open, hollowed-out section of the tree above you, rising into the sky. The entire tree is a giant elevator! Now you just need to get inside it. Return to the cabin and turn the wheel counterclockwise to let out all of the gas. Once the gas is gone and the furnace is no longer providing power, you should begin hearing loud hissing sounds as the tree lowers again. Run back to the tree and wait for the open section to reach ground level, then jump in. The "elevator" will continue to descend underground, and soon will stop in a dark, circular room containing several tree trunks. In the center of the room is a stump, and on the stump rests the Channelwood Book. Watch the flyby in the window to see what the Age looks like, then link to search for the final red and blue pages. =============================================================================== 2. Channelwood Plumbing [IV.E.2] =============================================================================== Once the link is complete, you'll find yourself standing on a narrow wooden walkway about a foot above clear, blue water. All around you are evergreen trees, which are growing directly out of the water. As you look ahead, you can see that the walkway joins with another, and that there is actually an entire maze of walkways crisscrossing among the trees. Look up, and you'll be able to see crude wooden huts built approximately halfway up the trees. You'll probably want to get up there soon, since there doesn't appear to be very much down here. Turn around and you'll see that the walkway you're on is a dead end, since there's a tree directly behind you. Also, you'll notice that a metal pipe is running along the edge of the walkway. Follow the walkway until you come to an intersection, then take a look at the pipe. It will have met with another pipe, and they intersect in a circular chamber. In this circle is a hinged rod, which can be swung back and forth to block one of the pipes. This means that you could direct whatever flows through these pipes to a specific location using the junctions. However, the pipes appear to be empty at the moment. Look to the right, and you'll see that the trees come to an end in front of a rocky island with a wooden windmill built on it. That's probably where you should go, since it appears to be the only landmark here. As you make your way towards the windmill, you may notice a wooden box to the left. If you inspect it, you'll see that it's a crude elevator. In front of it, a pipe feeds into a generator which powers the ropes controlling the elevator. However, the generator is silent, and the elevator has no power. Continue to the right, and you'll notice that all the paths seem to converge in front of the windmill. Just before you reach the single walkway leading to the windmill, however, another path will head to the left. If you follow it, you'll see that it leads to a wooden staircase that spirals up around the trunk of a large tree. Unfortunately, there is a locked gate in front of the staircase, preventing you from using it. There's also another generator similar to the one in front of the elevator, but no elevator. There are ropes leading up out of the generator, though, so whatever the generator powers must above, at the top of the staircase, perhaps. Now, return to the main walkway that leads to the windmill. Once you reach the island and are on solid ground, the metal pipe running along the walkway will end, connecting to a hose that winds up the zig-zagging path to the windmill. At the top of the island is a small shed built underneath the windmill. Inside, you can see all the workings of the windmill. To the left, you can see the generator that uses the electricity generated by the turning windmill blades to pump water up from the ocean, where it is directed into a large tank to the right. The hose runs into that tank, so that must be the source of the water that should be flowing through the pipes. However, there isn't any water in the pipes, so something is blocking the water in the tank from running into the hose. If you examine the spot where the hose connects to the tank, you'll see a spigot, which is closed. Turn the spigot, and you'll hear the sound of water flowing through the hose. Follow the path back down to the wooden walkways, and you'll still be able to hear the water flowing. Now you can direct the water to the elevator you saw earlier and use it to reach the huts in the trees! From the windmill, direct the water left, right, right, and right. This will direct the water into the generator by the elevator, and you'll hear the generator humming. Now, climb into the tiny elevator, shut the door, and pull the lever next to the door, and the elevator will slowly, noisily ascend into the trees. =============================================================================== 3. Huts in the Trees [IV.E.3] =============================================================================== When the elevator stops, you'll be standing on a wooden platform about halfway up the trees. In front of you is a rope bridge strung between a wooden hut a short distance away. The hut appears to be clinging to the tree trunk; it is supported by wooden beams that extend from the trunk of the tree to the edges of the hut. Walk across the bridge to the hut and you'll see that it does not appear to have been lived in for a long time. You'll also see that two other rope bridges lead away from it, to the left and to the right. As you continue on, you'll see that there is another maze of huts in the trees. Simply walk through and explore this deserted village. As you do, it will become clear that the huts were at one time inhabited. However, the huts have long been neglected, containing broken pottery, dirty floors, and collapsed wall. An important question is, "Where have the people gone?" Atrus described this village as being inhabited by a race of intelligent, gorilla-like creatures. The image of a gorilla head displayed as a trophy in Achenar's room in the Mechanical Age may spring to mind; if its implication is correct, then Achenar's (and perhaps Sirrus's) images just took a major blow. As you roam through the abandoned huts, try to find a wooden platform located behind where the elevator stops. It is in roughly the same direction as the windmill, so try to head as much as you can towards the windmill, and you should be able to find it. When you reach the platform, you'll see that another elevator rests there, and that it is also at the top of the winding staircase. Unfortunately, access to the top of the staircase is also blocked by another locked gate! There has to be some way to open those gates! Now look at the elevator, which appears to climb even higher into the trees. It has no power, nor is there a generator next to it. If you dare, look down over the edge of the platform to see where you are in relation to the ground level. Otherwise, just think back to when you were on the ground (or should you say sea) level. Remember that there was a generator next to the base of the staircase with cables leading upward, but no elevator. Since this elevator is next to the top of the staircase, that generator must power this elevator! By redirecting the water to the generator by the stairs, you could then power the platform elevator to reach a yet higher level. There's just one problem with that plan: if you redirect the water, you won't be able to use the first elevator to get back up to the platform elevator. You've got to find a way to get between the first and second levels without using water power, and that means you've got to find a way to open the staircase. This problem of opening the staircase gates is tricky. You haven't seen any clues regarding the stairs either on the lower level or in the huts. There wasn't any mention of the staircase in Atrus's journal, either. However, there was a map of the huts in his journal. Examine closely the map of the huts, which is at the end of the Channelwood journal, and you should notice something unusual: there's a dotted line connecting one of the huts to the platform at the top of the staircase. It's not much, but since it's the only lead you have, you might as well check it out. From the platform go straight, left, straight, left, left, straight. (These directions are for each hut, not all of which present a choice. Thus, the directions may list straight for a hut even if that is the only possible way to go.) This will lead you to a dead-end hut with an excellent view of the platform, and in front of the window is a wooden stand with a switch on it! Pull the switch, and you'll see the gate in front of the staircase swing open! Now you can go down the stairs, which means you can travel between the first and second levels without using water power! Go back to the platform and make your way down the steep spiral staircase. When you reach the bottom, undo the latch on the bottom gate and push it open. Since you can now freely travel between the first and second levels, you can direct the water power to the platform elevator, then use the stairs to reach the platform and use the elevator. To direct the water to the platform elevator generator, all you have to do is change the direction of the water at the first junction. When you return to the stairs, you should hear the generator humming. Climb the stairs to reach the elevator, then climb in and pull the lever to rise into the trees once more. =============================================================================== 4. The Top of the Forest [IV.E.4] =============================================================================== Once the elevator stops, open the door and climb out. You'll be standing on another wooden platform, though now you are near the crowns of the trees. Walkways lead away from the platfrom to the left and to the right, so adobt your left-to-right strategy and take the left-hand path first. It soon turns to the left again, so that it heads behind the elevator, ending at a large, wooden building. Open the decorated wooden door, and there shouldn't be any question in your mind that this is Sirrus's room. It is another bedroom, like the one in the Stoneship Age, and as always, it is full of interesting objects. Of course, the walls are wooden, decorated with exquisite carvings, all the furniture and fabrics are top quality, etc. To the left of the door, you'll see a broken chair and several bottles strewn across the floor. This is another piece of evidence that Sirrus was using drugs and drinking. On the other side of the room, there's a sink, which by now has a disgusting ring around it, as well as a desk with a spoiled, half-eaten meal on it. Now examine the bed, and you'll notice that there are two drawers built into the base. The left drawer contains a dagger, which looks suspicious, and the right-hand drawer contains the second half of the torn note! If you put it together with the first half from Achenar's room in the Stoneship Age, you can read the entire message: Marker Switch Vault Access Island of Myst The vault is located in very plain view on the Island of Myst, and access can be achieved very easily if the simple instructions are followed. First, locate each of the Marker Switches on the island. Turn every one of these switches to the "on" position. Then go to the dock and, as a final step, turn the Marker Switch there to the "off" position. Very interesting! You'll need to make sure to check this out once you get back to Myst. For now, there's still one thing you haven't investigated, and that's the desk underneath the window with the view of the windmill. Open the drawer, and you'll find the red page. Now comes the time to make a decision. Up to this point, you have been the pages from both Books in an attempt to learn as much as possible about what happened on Myst. However, both Sirrus and Achenar have said that only one more page is needed in order to set them free from their Books. You will have to choose carefully this time which page to take. Or should you take a page at all? From what you've learned of the brothers, neither one appears to be deserving of freedom. However, there's not really any other option for you, unless you want to stay on Myst forever. You have to free one of them; your only other possible option would be if the Marker Switch vault can help you get back to Earth somehow. Since you have no other choice to set one of them free, you should make the best possible decision. From their messages, you know that at least one of them is lying, since their stories contradict each other. That means that your choice comes down to selecting, in effect, the lesser of two evils. Sirrus is arrogant and greedy, but Achenar seems a lot more likely to kill you in some gruesome fashion, judging by his demeanor and the decor in his rooms. Based on this, Sirrus is probably the safer choice. Having decided this, take the red page, then leave the room. Return to the elevator platform, and this time follow the other walkway. After following the path through the trees, you'll come to another building, with a door on the left. Ahead, a gate made of iron bars blocks the path. Open the door leading into the building, and you'll step into a dark, triangular room. As soon as you enter, however, Achenar's face will appear in the air in the center of the room! His image will say something in an unintelligible language, probably the language of the tree-dwellers, then disappear. Once the image is gone, look at the device in the center of the room, over which Achenar appeared. If you try to touch it, metal plates with sharp steel teeth will suddenly spring up from the edges and snap together, forming metal jaws that try to bite anyone tampering with the machine! This appears to be some sort of religious temple or shrine, obviously created by Achenar. The room is full of candles and strange wooden masks, and gives the impression of once being the site of rituals and sacrifices. Once you've had enough of it, leave through the door on the opposite side of the room. The "back door" of the temple leads to a wooden walkway that will soon rejoin the main walkway, on the other side of the iron gate. Continue along the main path, and it will terminate at another wooden building built in the trees. Open the door, and it won't take you long to figure out who this room belongs to, either. This room is in the worst shape of any that you've visited previously. The floor is nothing more than a bunch of unevenly connected planks, and you can look through the gaps to see the ocean below. There's not even a mattress on the crude wooden bed frame. There's really not much here at all; it's a nearly empty shack that is falling apart. The blue page is laying on the floor, but don't take it, since you already have the red page. The only other thing in this room is a device in the corner which may remind you of the fortress rotation simulator in the Mechanical Age. Underneath the blank display screen are four buttons. Push the first one, and you'll see the same message that played when you entered the temple! Achenar must have used this device to record and select the messages that plays whenever someone enters the temple. The second and third buttons play other messages from Achenar in the Channelwood language, but the fourth is different. Push it, and a younger-looking Sirrus will appear on the screen, saying: "I hope I pushed the right button, my dear brother. What a very interesting device you have here. I'm not erasing anything important, am I? Remember, he is preparing. Take only one page, my dear brother." What does this mean? Who's preparing? One page from what? Perhaps you'll be able to find out later, but for now, this message is very mysterious. Well, now you've found what you came here for: the final page, though you also discovered several other intriguing information, such as the Marker Switch vault instructions and Sirrus's message to Achenar. Now you just need to find a way out of this Age. You've explored everywhere in Channelwood except for part of the ground level, so take the elevators back down. =============================================================================== 5. Leaving Channelwood [IV.E.5] =============================================================================== Once you get back to the first level, try to head as far away from the windmill as possible. You'll find that you'll encounter a gap in the path no matter which way you go, but you can see another elevator on the far side. However, the gap closest to where you linked into Channelwood has a generator at the end of the path with a pipe running into it. If you can power the generator, perhaps it will provide a way for you to cross the gap. Return to the first junction in front of the windmill and direct the water left, left, and right. You could also direct it left, right, left, and left, since two of the pipes merge as they head towards the generator. However you do it, once the water is powering the generator, pull the lever on the generator and a bridge will rise up out of the water, connecting to the far path. Cross the bridge and follow the path until you come to the third, unexplored elevator. Unfortunately, this elevator also has no power, and there's not even a pipe along the path you came by. However, another path also leads to this elevator, and it does have a pipe with it. Follow this other path, and prepare to be disappointed yet again. You've found the other walkway gap, and this gap also separates the pipes. Luckily, though, there's a handle on the end of the pipe. Turn it, and a section of pipe will telescope across the gap, fitting into the pipe on the opposite side. Now all you have to do is return to the windmill and direct the water through the new pipe, and the elevator should be powered. To do that, direct the water left, right, right, and left. Now return to the elevator via the bridge, and it should be powered. Climb into the elevator, pull the lever, and you'll ascend to the second level again. This time, however, the elevator exits into a small compartment in the trees, with the Myst Book laying on the floor. Pick it up and open it to see the image of the library ceiling. Place your hand on the image to return to Myst with the final red page. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | F. FINISHING UP [IV.F] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. Marker Switch Vault [IV.F.1] =============================================================================== When the link is complete, you'll be standing in the library, the final red page in hand. Before you insert that page into the Red Book, however, you should exhaust all other options. Unfortunately, you only have one other option, and that's the Marker Switch vault. Before you free Sirrus, you should first find out what's inside the Marker Switch vault. There may be something there that can help you, or perhaps allow you to avoid having to free Sirrus. To find it, follow the instructions from the torn note that you found in Achenar's room on Stoneship and Sirrus's room on Channelwood. Here it is again: Marker Switch Vault Access Island of Myst The vault is located in very plain view on the Island of Myst, and access can be achieved very easily if the simple instructions are followed. First, locate each of the Marker Switches on the island. Turn every one of these switches to the "on" position. Then go to the dock and, as a final step, turn the Marker Switch there to the "off" position. The instructions are fairly simple to follow. All of the Marker Switches should be on already, but if you need to check, their locations are: dock, gears, planetarium, spaceship, basin, generator controls, log cabin, clock tower. Once you're sure that all the switches are on, the note says to go to the dock and turn the Marker Switch there off. Do so, and the front panel of the Marker Switch will swing open, revealing a hollow compartment inside! It contains a single white page. What could this page be for? It is obviously not for the Red or Blue Books, and nothing you have found so far would suggest any use for a white page. You probably shouldn't pick it up, either, since these pages tend to disappear if you try to take more than one of them. Since it doesn't seem to be of any use to you now, flip the switch back up to close the vault. It appears that you have no other choice; you'll have to insert the final red page. =============================================================================== 2. The Fifth Page [IV.F.2] =============================================================================== Return to the library and walk up to the Red Book. Take a deep breath, then insert the page into the Book. Nothing unusual will happen. Turn back to the window, and there will be Sirrus again, just like normal, with another message for you. This time his message is almost perfectly clear, nearly free of static: "Ah, you've finally returned. I owe you a debt of gratitude, for you have nearly released me. My name is Sirrus. I trust that, from your explorations, you've become convinced that my wicked brother Achenar is guilty and I am innocent. It is I who am wrongly imprisoned here; imprisoned by my father. I don't know who you are or how you came to this island, but I assume you must at least know something of the Books. It was father who was a master of the Books: he wrote hundreds of them, all describing and linking to the fantastic places and Ages which he had discovered. The room in which you now stand was our father's library. It was here, in this room, on this island named Myst, that he housed most of these Books. But such a waste. By now you have surely discovered that Achenar has burnt and mutilated most of these Books. Why? Our father was always watchful of our explorations. We grew up under his strict supervision. But when we came of age, he gave us unbridled access to the Myst Books. He began to leave our adventures more and more unchecked. Unsupervised as we were, my brother began to become disturbed. He began to take more from the Myst Ages than he had given. Soon he gained a twisted pleasure from the conquest and destruction of the other Ages. It was horrific, this thirst for the destruction. But alas, even I discovered his insanity too late. He had completely destroyed all of the Myst Ages but four. I wasted no time in warning my father. I thought he would recognize Achenar's guilt. But in a fit of rage he imprisoned both my brother and myself within the pages of these Books, designed to hold us until he could judge which of us was guilty. To discover the truth, our father embarked on one final journey. However, he has never returned. I can only assume that he perished along the way, leaving me, an innocent victim, entrapped forever. But now you are here to release me. Listen carefully. You must find one more page and I will be forever free. There is a book on the shelves in this library which is mostly burnt but has a few pages still intact. It is the last book on the middle shelf. Find it. This book is filled with a variety of patterns. Find pattern 158, and recreate it on the door of the fireplace. This will bring you to the last red page. Bring that page to me and I will finally be released, and able to reward you, of course. Ignore the blue page. That page finishes my brother's Book. It chills me to even think what would happen if you were to release him. There is another warning. Where the red and blue pages reside, also resides a green book. If you touch the green book you also will be imprisoned forever. Our father gave us this same warning long ago. I suggest you follow his advice. Go now. Soon we will meet face to face." Finally, Sirrus tells you his entire story. Now you have his account of how and why he became trapped in the Red Book, and of course he places the blame on Achenar. Also, for the first time Sirrus mentions his father, and says that died while on his journey to determine the brothers' guilt. This is in contrast to Achenar's story; he says that Sirrus murdered Atrus. The most important part of Sirrus's message, though, is the statement that there is still one more page to find, accessed through the fireplace. Obviously, you're going to have to find that secret chamber soon, but first, why not return the blue page and hear what Achenar has to say? Since you know now that nothing out of the ordinary (well, ordinary for Myst) will occur, you might as well. To do that, return to Channelwood by using the furnace to lift or lower the giant tree elevator. Once you're in Channelwood, switch the first junction so that the water flows to the right, into the platform elevator. Now take the stairs up to the second level, then use the platfrom elevator to reach the third. Return to Achenar's room, take the blue page, and return to the first level. Now switch the first junction back to the left. All the other junctions should have stayed in place, so that the water is now flowing into the Myst Book elevator. Make your way back to the elevator and use the Myst Book, so that you're back in the library with the blue page. Now you can fearlessly insert the page, knowing that nothing dramatic will happen. Turn to the window, and, among constant giggling, you'll hear Achenar's tale: "Hello. I'm Achenar. I'm glad to see that you have returned to help me escape from my wrongful imprisonment. It was Sirrus who did this to me: Sirrus, my wicked brother. Do not listen to him! I warn you! I warn you again: he is a liar. Do not be persuaded by his evil lies! Do not release him. He killed my father. He will kill you. It began when my brother, Sirrus, began to lust for riches. He stole from the Ages of Myst. He hoarded up riches for himself, while father, father slept away his watchfulness, my sick brother secretly pronounced himself king. King of the Ages of Myst, he said. He began to look upon me in disgust, his lowly brother. I hated him! And then Sirrus began to destroy the Ages of Myst. He burned their forests. He tore down their structures. He flooded their lands. He murdered their inhabitants. He completely destroyed all but four of the Ages. Of course, I had to warn father, but when I finally found him, there was Sirrus also, talking cleverly, with the lying tongue of a serpent. He convinced father that it was I who had destroyed the Ages. He convinced father that it was I who was greedy for wealth and plunder. And as Sirrus dealt the final blow, he tricked father into believing that I was the murderer. But Sirrus did not deal as fast a blow as he planned, and as father died a slow death he at last doubted my brother's clever lies. And so, in dying, father imprisoned us both, unsure from which of us the blow had come. I swear to you, what I say is true. Release me. You must release me. My brother is a deceitful liar and deserves punishment. I only wish vengeance for my dear father, his murder. Believe me. You must only recover one additional page to release me from this prison. It is the easiest to find. Go to the bookshelf that is in this library. On the far right side of the middle shelf, there is a burnt book which is different from the other burnt books: this book is filled with patterns. Find pattern 158. Mimic its design on the panel in the fireplace. Doing this will bring you to the last blue page. Remember, don't take the red page, only the blue page. Return it quickly to me. And do not touch the green book. It is a clever trap to imprison those who have not been warned. Do not be tempted, for you will rot and die, imprisoned as I am. I tell you, if you follow my instructions it will be well worth your while, I promise you that. Go, Go." Achenar's story is in many respects similar to Sirrus's, except with the roles reversed, of course. He claims that Sirrus destroyed the Ages and murdered their father, while Sirrus said that Atrus became enraged by the news that Achenar was becoming violent. Either way, they both agree that Atrus is dead. Actually, based on what you have learned about Sirrus and Achenar, you could believe either story. However, they cannot both be true. It's time you followed the brothers' instructions regarding the fireplace. =============================================================================== 3. The Fireplace [IV.F.3] =============================================================================== Both brothers said that you would need to somehow recreate pattern 158 from one of the library books onto the fireplace door. First, find the pattern book, if you haven't before. It is, as they said, the last book on the middle shelf. Find it, and you'll see though it is burned around the edges, it is still readable. As you flip through it, you'll see that consists of nothing but 300 patterns of squares arranged on an 8 x 6 grid. Flip through until you find pattern 158, which looks like this: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ |##|##| | | | |##|##| |##|##|__|__|__|__|##|##| | |##|##| |##| |##|##| |__|##|##|__|##|__|##|##| |##| |##| | | |##|##| |##|__|##|__|__|__|##|##| |##| | |##| | |##|##| |##|__|__|##|__|__|##|##| |##|##|##| |##|##| | | |##|##|##|__|##|##|__|__| |##|##|##|##|##| |##| | |##|##|##|##|##|__|##|__| Once you've found the pattern, approach the fireplace. In case you've never examined it before, it's next the door, and is completely empty. There are no logs, no hearth, and definitely no fire. In fact, you can climb right into it! You should do so, and you'll find that there's plenty of room to stand inside of it. As you look out at the library, you should notice a red button to the left of the opening. Press it, and a gray wall will lower in front of you, trapping you inside. A window set with thick iron bars has been placed in the top portion of the wall, and the bottom portion consists of a panel of flat gray metal. If you touch the panel, a small square will appear where your finger touched! Touch the square again and it will disappear. It turns out that the fireplace panel has room for the same number of squares as the patterns, so you can recreate pattern 158 on the fireplace panel. Once the pattern has been entered, press the red button again. With a loud, mechanical grinding sound, the fireplace will rotate 180 degrees! When it comes to a stop, the wall will reascend, and you'll be facing a tiny chamber containing two shelves on the brick wall. On the bottom shelf rest one red page and one blue page, and on the top shelf is a Green Book, in all other respects identical to the Red and Blue Books. Now, it's time to make your true final decision. You have three options before you: take the red page and free Sirrus, take the blue page and free Achenar, or ignore both their warnings and open the Green Book. Consider what you have learned about the two brothers during your explorations: though he appears to be smooth and sophisticated, you know that Sirrus is arrogant, greedy, and power-hungry. He apparently had drug problems and seems to have been willing to do whatever it took to maintain his power, including lying and killing. Achenar, on the other hand, seems to be mentally unstable. He apparently gains a perverse form of pleasure from weapons, death, and torture. The evidence suggests that he may be at least partially responsible for the disappearance (i.e. death) of all the original inhabitants of the Ages. Additionally, from the stories they have told you through their Books, you know that one or both of them are lying. Your entire decision essentially boils down to a single question: who do you trust? The answer: neither of them. They both appear to be wicked, dangerous liars. However, there is one thing that both brothers were in complete agreement on: that you should by no means touch the Green Book. By now you have been convinced that the brothers do not have your own welfare in mind, only their own. Therefore, if you don't trust either brother, and both of them tell you NOT to touch the Green Book, what should you do? Why, you should open the Green Book, of course. =============================================================================== 4. The Green Book [IV.F.4] =============================================================================== Open the Green Book, and you'll see that it's a Linking Book. In the window you'll see an image of a man, dressed in white, sitting at a desk, writing. After a second, he'll look up and exclaim, "Who the devil are you? Don't come here to D'ni! Not yet!", after which he will continue like this: "Who the devil are you? Don't come here to D'ni! Not yet! Oh, I have many questions for you, my friend, as you no doubt have for me. Where should I begin? Oh... perhaps my story is in order. My name is Atrus. I fear you've met my sons, Sirrus and Achenar, in the Red and Blue Books on Myst Island, in my library, my library. Oh, it contains my works, my writings. I wrote many Books, many Books that linked me to fantastic places. It's an Art I learned from my father many years ago. Oh, but the Red and Blue Books, those were different. I wrote those Books to entrap over-greedy explorers that might stumble upon my island of Myst. But I had no idea my own sons would be entrapped. My sons, Sirrus and Achenar. We had many journeys together. I gave them free reign to the Books. Perhaps that was not wise. I could see the greed growing in them. I had not told them about the Red and Blue Books. Their imaginations went wild. They dreamed of riches and power. Of course, they did not know the Books were traps. They begged me for access to those Books, and I, of course, denied them. Oh, they devised a plan, an evil plan. I had no idea to what extent their greed had, had progressed. Their own mother, they used their own mother, oh, my dear Catherine, to lure me here to D'ni. Of course I, I could return to Myst, except that they removed a single page from my Myst Linking Book. I cannot return without that page. You, my friend, can bring that page to me. Oh, I pray you believe my story about the lies that my sons have told you. If you could find it in yourself to return that page to me here in D'ni, I could go to Myst and bring justice to my sons for what they've done. I must return to my writing. I pray that you believe me. Please hurry. Bring the page. Bring the page with you." Finally, you have found Atrus! No wonder Sirrus and Achenar didn't want you to look in the Green Book; it would prove that all their stories were nothing more than a stack of lies. Atrus's story seems much more believable than Sirrus's or Achenar's, even if it is more horrific than you could have imagined. Sirrus and Achenar used their mother as bait to trap their father, all so they could use two Linking Books! It turns out that neither of them were "wrongly imprisoned", as they so often claimed; they were simply victims of their own stupidity and greed. From Atrus's message, as well as the little that you've learned about him on Myst, he appears to be honest and genuine, though the same could not be said for his sons. Additionally, the fact that his story unites and explains everything that you have seen and heard thus far much better than Sirrus's or Achenar's ever did gives further credibility to him. By all accounts, Atrus appears to be telling the truth, which means you should help him escape. To do so, Atrus needs a single page for his Myst Book. Where in the world could that be hidden? What about the white page in the Marker Switch vault? That must be it! As you rush down to the dock to open the vault and retrieve the page, reflect on Sirrus's message on the Channelwood device: "Take only one page, my dear brother." Now you know the sinister meaning behind that once-cryptic message. Once you have the page, return to the library and reenter the pattern on the fireplace. Open the Green Book again, and Atrus will ask you if you've found the missing page, then tell you to "Come. Come." Place your hand over Atrus's image to link. =============================================================================== 5. D'ni [IV.F.5] =============================================================================== You'll materialize in a large, circular, room made entirely of stone. The floor contains a mosaic pattern, and in the center is a picture of someone. As you look around the room, you can that part of the wall has collapsed, in one spot, leaving a pile of rock on the ground. One of the first things you should see, however, is Atrus sitting behind a desk at one end of the room, writing. When you reach the desk, he'll welcome you: "Ah, my friend. You've returned! And the page, did you bring the page?" he'll ask as he holds out his hand. Give him the page and he'll tell you, "You've done the right thing," as he reaches for the Myst Book laying on the desk. He'll continue, "I have a difficult choice to make," at which point he will insert the page into the Book, then stop to think for a few seconds. Eventually, having made up his mind, he will tell you, "My sons have betrayed me. I know what I must do. I shall return shortly," and Atrus will place his hand on the Book. After a few minutes he'll return, saying, "It is done. Oh, I have many questions for you, my friend. But, my writing cannot wait. I fear that my long delay may have already had a catastrophic impact on the world in which my wife Catherine is now being held hostage. Oh, and reward. I'm sorry, but all I have to offer you is the library on the island of Myst, the books that are contained there. Feel free to explore at your leisure. I hope you find your explorations satisfying. You will no longer have my sons to deal with." Atrus will return to the large book on his desk, but after a second he'll look up again and say, "Oh, and one more favor. I am fighting a foe much greater than my sons could even imagine. At some point in the future, I may find it necessary to request your assistance. Until that point, feel free to enjoy the explorations from my library on Myst. Thank you again," and he will return his attention to the book on the desk. After several seconds, he will remind you that you can use the Linking Book to return to Myst, then return to his writing. Upon hearing Atrus tell you all this, you realize that Sirrus and Achenar have really made a mess of things. They allowed their own mother to be taken hostage in another world, and now Atrus must devote all his time trying to save her! Equally intriguing is Atrus's mention of an even greater foe that he is fighting. Who that foe is, or how exactly Atrus is "fighting" him seems to be a mystery, but he mentioned that he might need your help sometime later. With everything Atrus has been through, you'll be glad to help out if needed. Also, Atrus gave you the library and all the Books as a reward for freeing him, which is generous, but not exactly what you were hoping for. Atrus made no mention of any way to get you back home. After a few minutes, he'll point to the Myst Book, saying that you can use it to return to Myst. Open the Book, and you'll once again see the image of the library ceiling in the window. Place your hand over it to link back to the library. When you return, walk up to the podiums where the Red and Blue Books once rested. All that remains of them are two black burn marks. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | G. RIME AGE [IV.G] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== 1. Rime Age Journal [IV.G.1] =============================================================================== So, Atrus made sure that Sirrus and Achenar will never be freed. As you turn to leave the library, you'll see that there's a book lying on the floor. Open it, and you'll discover that it is the Rime Age journal. This is the only journal on the shelf that doesn't correspond to one of the Ages you visited. Perhaps that is about to change, since Atrus must have left this here for you intentionally. Read the journal to see what this Age is like. The first thing Atrus describes about this Age is that it is cold, with "intricate feathers of ice that fall from the sky". He then comments that the temperature will be correct for obtaining the proper "resonance", and he mentions something about the structure of the Books. Perhaps he is planning to do experiments with Books on this Age. His next comment is about the "mysterious lights that shine in the darkness"; he wonders what they are and how they are formed. Next he notes that the construction is going slowly, and he will probably bring Sirrus and Achenar, as well as some machinery from Selenitic. Although Achenar chose to stay with Catherine, Sirrus was excited to come, mentioning he was intrigued with the "crystals," and they made lots of progress. In another entry, Atrus says that Sirrus will leave tomorrow, but he's been very helpful and the hardest part of the construction is over. However, he noted his interest in building an "observation post." Next, Atrus writes that he has been able to set up a temporary space "where the crystals will not be stimulated." He continues, "I am quite convinced that with the right diffractive resonance, certain properties of the ink can be simulated. Catherine still finds it absurd and thinks I am crazy to assume I will be able to view Ages with stones, but her unusual pessimism has not convinced me to stop trying. I came too close to success on Everdunes." It seems that Atrus is trying to view Ages using crystals to simulate the ink in Linking Books! There's also a reference to Everdunes, which is mentioned in one of the other journals, too, but it seems that its Linking Book was burned. In the next entry, Atrus details how the temperature has "a stabilizing effect" on the crystals, but it's not enough. So, he placed thin slices of special geodes he found underneath the crystals, and they stabilized the crystals enough that, after much experimentation with the "shapes and colors," he was able to view a blurry image of an Age! In the next two entries, he mentions that he saw "the lights" again, and expresses his frustration over how much still remains to be done. Then, he recounts a dream he had last night. He mentions a lot of strange names and places, but apparently he dreamed of the ruined city of D'ni, and the destruction caused by Veovis and A'Gaeris. D'ni, of course, is where Atrus was trapped, and where he still is now, writing. Apparently there is much more to D'ni than the sealed room Atrus is in; it apparently used to be home to an entire civilization, though it has now fallen into ruin. He also said that he didn't think all D'ni was dead, as his father believes, and that there must be some who survived in separate Ages. He says he wants to go back and rebuild, but, "I can do nothing until I am certain of the fate of my father. If my plan failed, if I missed a single Book when attempting to trap him on Riven, then he has been free all along." What? Why in the world would Atrus trap his own father in an Age called Riven? Atrus seems to have a very dysfunctional family: his children destroy his Ages and he has trapped his father on an Age called Riven! He concludes that he must observe his father on Riven without reestablishing the link, which he had severed by destroying all the Linking Books out of Riven. Apparently, that is the purpose of his experiments on Rime: to find a way to use the crystals to view the Age of Riven. The journal ends with Atrus deciding to take a break and visit Catherine. Also, at the end of the journal are two drawings: one of the holographic imager in the fore-chamber, and the other of the fore-chamber control panel, which is set to 40. However, the panel appears to have lowered horizontally, instead of being flat against the wall. There are also some things on the drawinds that weren't there before: the far side of the imager has been circled, and the number 2735 has been written on the page. Atrus must have done this while he was here destroying the Red and Blue Books, which means he must have wanted you to find the Rime Age! =============================================================================== 2. Accessing Rime Age [IV.G.2] =============================================================================== Once you've seen Atrus's new clues, head to the fore-chamber to see how to use them. The first thing he added was a circle around the far side of the basin. Walk around behind it and you'll find that there's another button there! Unfortunately, it's not lit, and nothing happens if you push it. The other thing he wrote was the number 2735, but there's nowhere here to use that number. The only other thing that could be of use was that the control panel was set to 40. That must be what you need. Set the panel to 40, then walk back around to the second button. Now it will be flashing. Push it, and the control panel will lower and rotate down until it's laying horizontally, revealing an alcove behind it! Walk up to the panel and look inside the hidden alcove. Behind the panel is a brass plate with a map of the concrete walkway leading to the rocket on it. The walkway, as you know, zigzags and has a circular platform in between each segment. However, on the plate, the second circular platform is different. It has an outer ring with an opening on the right side, and a button in the center. Press the button and the ring will rotate 180 degrees, so that the opening is now to the left. You'll also hear some loud mechanical grinding, indicating that what you saw on the plate has probably occured on the actual platform. Exit the fore-chamber and walk out onto the path to the rocket. There doesn't appear to be anything different about the second platform. However, the opening moved from the right to the left side, so perhaps you should examine the side of the platform. Return to the ground and go down the slope to reach the side of the platforms, near the electrical tower. Once you're down there, look at the second platform again. There's a door in the side! Enter it and you'll see a corridor leading to the right, underneath the spaceship path. After you go through the bottom of a circular platform, the path will turn to the left, where it will end in a circular room with a device in the center. It extends from the ceiling and rests a couple of feet above the ground. Walk up to it, and you'll see that it has a 4-digit input display. This must be what the number Atrus wrote in the journal is for! Enter 2735 into the device, and it will ascend another few feet into the ceiling, but that's it. Whatever happened must have affected the spot above the machine, so you need to find that spot. Leave the spaceship passage, and retrace your path above ground. You started at the second circle and went right, taking you to the first circle. Then the path turned to the left, which leads towards the library! Enter the library and you'll see that the center section of the floor has been raised, revealing a small niche underneath, and in that niche is a Book! Open it and you'll see a dark, mountainous, snow-covered world. Place your hand on the image to link to Rime. =============================================================================== 3. Brrrrrrrrr! [IV.G.3] =============================================================================== You'll appear standing at the end of a metal walkway over a dark ocean. It is night, and it's snowing, which means it's very cold. Looking out at the ocean, you'll see three metal towers have been built in the water. Turn around and you'll be able to see more of this Age. There's an identical metal walkway to the left, and they both lead onto the mainland, which is snow-covered and only has a small area that is level: the terrain soon becomes steep and mountainous. At the base of the tallest mountain is a small building, and another building has been built at the top of the mountain. Cross the metal walkway and enter the building. It's a small, circular room, and at the far end is a pedestal, which contains a Myst Linking Book. At least this Book isn't hidden like the others were. To the right is a door, but it won't open: it appears to have frozen shut. Across from the frozen door is a gas heater. Press the button on the heater and it will spark, but it won't ignite. The gas must be shut off. If you could provide gas to the heater, then you could probably use its heat to unfreeze the door, but you need to find a supply of gas first. Go back outside to see if you can find a way to turn on the gas. On the left side of the building, corresponding to the heater's location inside, you'll see a pipe running into the wall from a generator located next to the far walkway. There's a handle attached to the pipe. Turn it, and you'll hear the hiss of gas moving through the pipe. Go back inside and turn on the heater. It works now, but it's not much warmer. Of course! The door is open, letting all that cold air in! Shut it, and almost immediately you'll hear the ice around the door crack and melt. It will also get much more comfortable. Once the ice is melted, open the door. =============================================================================== 4. Aurora Controls [IV.G.4] =============================================================================== The door leads to a long, dark passageway underneath the mountain. At its end is an elevator. Enter it, and you'll see that everything about the elevator is normal, except that there are two rectangular windows on the side walls, which appear to serve no purpose. You can try the down button on the elevator, but nothing happens, so there must not be anything below you. Press the up button, and the elevator will quickly ascend to the top of the mountain. Once the elevator stops, the doors will open into the upper building. It's no bigger than the lower one, but its walls are made of glass, so you can look out across the ocean. Walk in and you'll see that the only thing in the room is a control panel. On the left-hand side is a single button, and on the right is a lever that can be slid into three different positions. Next to the lever is a red light. If you move the lever up or down, though, the light will change to blue or green, respectively. Set it back at red, then push the button. Three large bolts of electricity will jump up from the ocean to the tops of the metal towers, creating large balls of electricity on the tops of each of the towers! Then, the current will arc from one tower to the other, creating a bolt of electricity across all three towers. When this happens, a red curtain of light will shimmer in the air above the towers! After several seconds, the current will stop and the lights will disappear. You have just created an aurora, like the northern lights! Atrus noted this phenomenon in his journal, and had wondered as to its cause. Apparently he discovered that the cause was electromagnetic, and built the towers in order to artificially create them. If you move the lever to the blue or green positions, then pressing the button will create an aurora of that color. Throughout your adventure, you've seen again and again that Atrus's technology is well beyond that which is available on Earth. After you've watched all the auroras, climb back into the elevator. This appears to be all that's here, but it can't be. Atrus's journal spoke so much about the crystals he used to view Ages; they must be here somewhere. =============================================================================== 5. Atrus's Journal [IV.G.5] =============================================================================== When you get back inside the elevator, look at those windows in the side walls again. In the left one, you'll see that there's now a red button on the wall behind it. Push it, and the elevator car will rotate 180 degrees! Since you're now facing the other direction, the elevator will open onto another small room, this one built inside the mountain. It contains nothing more than a small desk and chair. On the desk you'll find another, more recent journal about Atrus's activities here on Rime. Read it and you'll find that it's very informative. It appears to be a continuation of the journal in the library, it just hadn't been finished yet and so hadn't been placed in the library by the time Atrus was trapped in D'ni. In the journal, Sirrus and Achenar are with him now, and they are very interested in this Age. Achenar sits for hours in the observation deck, where you just were, while Sirrus is engrossed with the crystals and the glimpses of Ages they can see. Atrus notes that they were able to get a nearly perfect image from a Book today. When they found it, Sirrus wanted to link immediately, not realizing that the link is not "binding". He also noticed that this meant they could adjust the crystals and watch the Age change. He explains that what they're actually seeing, however, is a number of distinct, yet similar, Ages. Next Atrus focuses on the lights: the auroras you saw. He says that Sirrus and Achenar are only interested now in viewing Channelwood or Stoneship, but that it would take too much time to find the correct crystals. He doesn't think he's through with the crystals yet, but he doesn't want his sons to know about Riven. Again, it appears that Atrus is trying to use these crystals to view the Age of Riven. In the next entry he hypothesizes about the lights. He thought at first that they were organic, but now he thinks they are electromagnetic, and they can be triggered somehow. As you already know, he was right. In next several entries he relates the amount of work going into building the towers, with the cold and the wind, but after a week they have them constructed. He explains that power will be conducted to the towers directly through the saline ocean, eliminating the need for stringing wires and allowing them to place the towers a comfortable distance away. That's why the electricity jumped directly out of the ocean when you created the auroras! After experimenting with the voltage, he finally gets the controls set and describes the awesome beauty of the auroras he and his sons have created. He and his sons are convinced that Catherine will come to see this, even though she usually doesn't use the Books. Atrus, however, expresses his need to escape to somewhere warm. In the final entries, Atrus tells how Catherine had to come after she found out that Atrus was planning to use the crystals to view Riven; apparently she has a special relationship with Riven. Now she is encouraging and helping Atrus greatly as they experiment with the geodes and crystals. He notes that Sirrus and Achenar did not come. The journal ends with Atrus planning to go to Everdunes to see if some of the crystals there may help him, and Catherine has returned home, but will meet him on Myst in three days. Since this is the last entry, Atrus probably never returned to Rime, meaning that this entry may have been written right before Sirrus and Achenar's treachery. That may be why Sirrus and Achenar left early, meaning Catherine probably wasn't waiting for Atrus when he returned to Myst. Once you've read Atrus's journal, turn around and reenter the elevator. =============================================================================== 6. Glimpses of Ages [IV.G.6] =============================================================================== Now that you've rotated the elevator, perhaps you should go back down to the lower level while still facing backwards: there might be another area to explore. Since you're on the upper level facing backwards, push the down button and the elevator will descend, but this time facing the opposite direction as when you ascended. When the door opens, you'll be facing another dark passageway underneath the mountains of this Age. Walk down the hallway and open the door to find the Atrus's crystal laboratory. When you step into the room, you'll immediately notice a large apparatus which dominates the room. It consists of five thin geodes connected by pipes to a blank Linking Book, also resting on a geode. On what would be the linking panel of the Book sits what looks like a projector with a red button on top of it, which is connected to a large, blank, metal viewer of some kind. Touch one of the geodes, and a crystal will rise up out of it! Wave your hand over the crystals, and it will change colors, cycling through the whole spectrum! If you touch the crystal, it will lower back into the geode and a different one will appear. Just to see how the viewer works, create crystals on all five geodes, then press the button on the projector. Light will emit from it, and you'll see nothing but static for a while on the viewer. After a few seconds, though, the static will clear and you'll see an image of space in the viewer. This was how Atrus viewed Ages! By finding correct combinations of crystals and colors, he was able to focus the view on one particular Age. Obviously, the random combination you entered doesn't focus on any Age, or it focuses on an Age that consists of nothing but empty space. Although that crystal combination didn't work, you do have one that does. In Atrus's journal, he recorded one combination that he had used to view an Age. Unfortunately, the final crystal has been smeared and you can't tell what it is. Keep touching the first four crystals until you find the exact combination and pick a random one for the fifth crystal, then press the button. Keep experimenting with the fifth crystal until you get a view of an Age. You'll find that the correct shape for the fifth crystal is one with a wide top that tapers down to a point at the bottom. So, the complete combination is, from left to right: two up-pointing spikes, two diagaonal spurs, a tall vertical bar, three vertical spikes, and a down-pointing cone. When you press the button with the correct combination, you'll see an image of a rather bare, mountainous island! You've done it! You've calibrated Atrus's crystals to view an Age through the imager! But that's not all: Atrus's journal didn't provide any colors for the crystals. Try changing the colors, then press the button again and see what happens. You'll discover that by varying the colors, you can cause snow, grass, and trees to appear in varying quantities on the Age! Actually, you know from Atrus's journal that you are not actually creating those things on the Age, but changing the imager's link to a very similar, yet distinct Age. After experimenting for a while, you'll be amazed at the power of this imager and Atrus's ingenuity in building it. Once you've seen the Age and experimented with the crystals, look around at the rest of the room. To the right is a small bed, presumably Atrus's. To the left is a desk. Walk up to it and see what's on it. It's mostly bare, but there is a note on it. It reads: It is real. The work of your hands, the touch of my dreams. I've left my dream for you. I'm only yours, Catherine Also on the note are drawings of five crystals, each shaded a particular color. Catherine left a combination! She must have discovered this combination while Atrus was gone and left him this note. Perhaps she discovered it shortly before she was tricked by Sirrus and Achenar, which means Atrus may have never seen this message. You should try the combination and see what Catherine found. Whatever it is, it's obviously something that is very important to both of them; it may even be Riven, that Age that was the whole purpose of these experiments! Return to the viewer and form the crystals that Catherine drew, making sure they look exactly like the drawings: the first consists of two spurs jutting out at sharp angles, the second is a vertical bar, the third consists of three vertical spikes, the fourth is a short diamond, and the fifth is made up of a thick bar that splits in two at the top. Then, make sure they're the correct colors: red, green, light blue, yellow, purple. Once everything is exactly like Catherine drew it, push the button on the projector. After a few seconds of static, you'll see an image of a cliff, a bridge, palm trees, and a blue sky. This must be Riven; the Age where Atrus's father is and which he can now safely observe from Rime. Looking back on your accomplishments these past few days, you've done quite a lot after suddenly finding yourself transported to another world. You have freed Atrus from his prison in D'ni and allowed him to punish his sons, who destroyed so much of his work. You have used his viewer on Rime to catch a glimpse of the mysterious Age of Riven. And now, you have no more tasks to perform, no pages to find, no codes to deciper. Now you are free to relax: to enjoy the ingenious fortress of Mechanical, the beautiful sunsets of Selenitic, the powerful storms of Stoneship, the watery forests of Channelwood, and the clear nights of Myst Island. Just remember what Atrus said: "I am fighting a foe much greater than my sons could even imagine. At some point in the future, I may find it necessary to request your assistance." Until then, though, enjoy your explorations and relax. You've earned it! SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER* _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | V. SOLUTIONS [V] | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| Warning! Don't look at this section unless you're totally stumped! This section gives you the solutions to every puzzle without any attempt at letting you figure it out on your own. If you're sure you want to see the answers, continue on... ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | A. MYST ISLAND [V.A] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== FORE-CHAMBER MESSAGE =============================================================================== To reach the fore-chamber, go to the dock and look for a door in the wall. In the fore-chamber, find the panel next to the stairs and push the green button in the top-left corner. Enter 08 into the control panel that appears, then push the button on the fore-chamber to view the message. =============================================================================== USING THE MAP =============================================================================== The map displays every location where you have turned on a Marker Switch (the large boxes with a switch on front). Turn on all the Marker Switches you can reach (dock, gears, planetarium, rocket, basin, generator room, log cabin). Now all those locations will be visible on the map, along with the library and the tower. Press the tower button and release it when the line turns red. This will rotate the tower to one of the places of protection. =============================================================================== THE TOWER =============================================================================== Touch the picture of the bookshelf in the library (located to the left of the actual bookshelf), which will reveal a secret passage leading to the tower. If you have used the map to rotate the tower to one of the places of protection, then you will be able to see that place of protection along with its access key by climbing the book and key ladders. =============================================================================== ACCESS KEYS =============================================================================== Mechanical Age: 2:40 2,2,1 Selenitic Age: 59 VOLTS Stoneship Age: OCTOBER 11, 1984 10:04 AM JANUARY 17, 1207 5:46 AM NOVEMBER 23, 9791 6:57 PM Channelwood Age: 7,2,4 To learn how to access each Age, see the section for that Age. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | B. MECHANICAL AGE [V.B] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== ACCESSING MECHANICAL AGE =============================================================================== Go to the beach across from the clock tower and use the wheels set in the ground to set the clock to 2:40, then press the red button. A walkway to the clock tower will appear, and you can enter. Inside, you need to set the device to read 2,2,1. To do so, pull the left lever once, rotating the bottom two wheels, so that it reads 3, 1, 1. Next, hold down the right lever, rotating the top two wheels until the three wheels read 1, 1, 1. Finally, pull the right lever one more time, causing the wheels to read 2, 2, 1. This will cause the giant gear to open, revealing the Mechanical Age Book inside. =============================================================================== SECRET CACHES =============================================================================== In the luxurious (Sirrus's) room, there's a secret door next to the throne, behind the tapestry. Inside, you'll find the red page and a note to Sirrus. In the creepy room (Achenar's), the secret door is next to the fortress rotation simulator and is marked with a yellow stripe. Inside is the blue page. =============================================================================== OPENING THE ELEVATOR =============================================================================== Press the red button in the hallway connecting the two rooms to lower the floor leading to the elevator, creating a staircase to a lower level. Underneath the elevator, hold the lever until the gap in the inner circle aligns with the gap in the outer circle. Climb back up the stairs and press the red button again; you can now enter the elevator. =============================================================================== FORTRESS ROTATION =============================================================================== Take the elevator up to the top level, then press the middle button. Exit the elevator before it descends, and once it does the fortress rotation device will be accessible on top of the elevator. Pull the left lever to unlock the fortress from its current position, then hold the right lever to rotate the fortress. Finally, pull the left lever again to lock the fortress to its new direction. Use the fortress rotation simulator in Achenar's room to learn how long it takes to rotate the fortress and what sounds correspond to each direction: north: "dink" east: "skroing" south: "dunk" west: "skree" =============================================================================== PEDESTAL COMBINATION =============================================================================== Rotate the fortress to the north and you'll find the first half of the combination. Rotate it east to find the second half. The first symbol is shaped like a horseshoe, the second consists of two narrow triangles on either side of a vertical bar, the third is made up of three short triangles with a circle above them, and the fourth is a semicircle. Enter this code into the pedestal on the south island to reveal a staircase leading to the Myst Book. =============================================================================== SUMMARY =============================================================================== red page: treasure chest in Sirrus's secret cache blue page: poison shelf in Achenar's secret cache Myst Book: chamber accessed with pedestal combination ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | C. SELENITIC AGE [V.C] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== ACCESSING SELENITIC AGE =============================================================================== Find the brick building in the forest. Follow it down to the generator controls. Press the fourth button in the first column and the second, third, and fourth buttons in the second column to set the generators to 59 volts. Now you can enter the rocket. To access the Book, you must set the sliders to tones corresponding to notes on the organ. These are the notes: ________________________________________________________________ | | || ||#| |#| || | |#| || || | |#| ||#| | | || || | | | || | | | | || ||#| |#| || | |#| || || | |#| ||#| | | || || | | | || | | | |_||_||#| |#|_||_| |#|_||_||_| |#|_||#| | |_||_||_| | |_||_| | | | | | |##| | |##| | | |##| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |##| | |##| | | |##| | | | | | | | | | |__|__|__|__|##|__|__|##|__|__|__|##|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__| 5 1 4 2 3 Play the note marked "1" on the organ, then set the first slider to that note. Repeat for all five notes and the Book will appear in the porthole window. =============================================================================== FIVE RADIO DISHES =============================================================================== There are five locations in the Selenitic Age where you will find a radio dish mounted on a brick tower. Each tower has a microphone attached that picks up the ambient sound at that location. By pressing the button at the base of the tower, the radio dish will begin broadcasting the sound picked up by the microphone to the radio tower on the island. =============================================================================== THE RADIO TOWER =============================================================================== By selecting one of the icons corresponding to the five radio dishes and pushing the arrow buttons, you can rotate the dish on the tower corresponding to that particular location. You want to rotate each dish so that it is pointing at its corresponding location. For example, with the button for the crystals lit, rotate its dish until it is pointing at the crystals. More specifically, you want to aim the dish at the dish broadcasting the signal. When you get within five degrees of the exact spot, the arrows will light up to indicate which direction to rotate. Once you have all five exactly aligned, press the sigma button. It will cycle through the five sounds in a seemingly random order. This is the code to unlock the door near the rocket. =============================================================================== DOOR CODE =============================================================================== This code is found using the radio tower (see previous solution). From left to right, the code is: whistling from crystals, rippling water from pool, wind from the tunnel, roaring from chasm, broken clock. =============================================================================== UNDERGROUND TUNNEL MAZE =============================================================================== The sound emitted by the speaker at each intersection indicates which direction you should go. The sounds corresponding to each direction are: north: "dink" east: "skroing" south: "dunk" west: "skree" The path you should follow through the tunnel is: N, W, N, E, E, S, S, W, SW, W, NW, NE, N, SE At the end of the maze you will find the Myst Book. =============================================================================== SUMMARY =============================================================================== red page: on top of button podium in crystals blue page: on bench in pool area Myst Book: at end of underground tunnels ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | D. STONESHIP AGE [V.D] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== ACCESSING STONESHIP AGE =============================================================================== Go to the planetarium, turn off the lights, and lay down in the chair. Use the device to enter in the three dates from the access key and find three star patterns. Use the patterns in the back of the Stoneship journal to match the patterns with three objects: a leaf, a snake, and an insect. Find those symbols on the pillars flanking the pool and touch them to turn them green. When those three symbols are green and all the others are red, the sunken ship next to the dock will rise, containing the Stoneship Age Book. =============================================================================== BUTTONS UNDERNEATH THE UMBRELLA =============================================================================== The three buttons each drain the water from one location. Only one area can be drained at a time. The left button drains the stairs to the cabin of the ship, the middle button drains the stairs leading to the bedrooms, and the right button drains the lighthouse. =============================================================================== ACCESSING THE LIGHTHOUSE =============================================================================== Press the right button underneath the umbrella to drain the water from the lighthouse. Climb down the steps and turn the spigot on the side of the chest to drain the water out of it. Now close the spigot and reflood the lighthouse. The chest will have floated to the surface, and you can use the key chained to the floor to unlock it. Inside is another key, which you can use to unlock the hatch to the top of the lighthouse. =============================================================================== ACCESSING THE BEDROOMS =============================================================================== Press the middle button to drain the tunnels leading into the central rock. Now go to the top of the lighthouse and crank the generator until the battery is full. This will power the lights in the tunnels, allowing you to follow the staircases to the bedrooms. The battery will only stay charged for a limited time, however, so you will need to recharge it periodically. =============================================================================== THE COMPASS =============================================================================== Halfway down each of the tunnels leading to the bedrooms is a wall panel marked with a red square. Touch this panel to open it and reveal a secret tunnel leading to an underground room with a large compass on the floor ringed with buttons. Pressing the wrong button will cause the power to go out and an alarm to sound. To determine the correct button, look through the telescope at the top of the island. The light of the lighthouse is shining directly beneath the mark for 135 degrees, or southeast. Press the button corresponding to southeast on the compass to turn on the submersible lamp. Now drain the water from the cabin (the left button) and you can use the light from the lamp to find a table containing the Myst Book. =============================================================================== SUMMARY =============================================================================== red page: bottom drawer of bureau in Sirrus's bedroom blue page: lying on bed in Achenar's bedroom torn note: in chest of drawers in Achenar's bedroom Myst Book: in desk at bottom of staircase in cabin ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | E. CHANNELWOOD AGE [V.E] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== ACCESSING CHANNELWOOD AGE =============================================================================== Go to the log cabin and enter 7 2 4 as the combination to the safe to open it, revealing a book of matches. Take a match and light it, then use it to light the pilot light on the furnace (the pilot light is the square on the bottom left of the furnace. Turn the wheel next to the furnace to let gas into the furnace. This will cause the giant tree outside to rise, revealing that it has an opening cut inside it. Basically, the tree is an elevator. Wait until the "car" is high above, then cut off the gas in the furnace and run back to the tree. When the car reaches ground level, jump in and ride it down until you reach an underground room containing the Channelwood Book. =============================================================================== THE WINDMILL =============================================================================== The windmill generates power used to draw water up from the ocean and into a large tank. A hose which leads to the network of pipes on the walkway is connected to this tank. Turn the spigot where the hose connects to the tank to allow water to flow through the hose, and so out into the network of pipes. =============================================================================== ACCESSING THE SECOND LEVEL =============================================================================== There is an elevator that leads up to the second level. To power it, direct the water (from the windmill) left, right, right, right. The water will run into the generator located next to the elevator, providing it with power so that you can ride the elevator to the second level. =============================================================================== ACCESSING THE THIRD LEVEL =============================================================================== There is a platform near the windmill on the second level that contains an elevator to the third level and the top of a staircase to the first level, which is gated at both ends. The generator for the elevator is located on the ground level. However, if you redirect the water to this generator, you will be unable to reach the second level to use the elevator. To circumvent this, you must unlock the staircase. To do this, from the platform go straight, left, straight, left, left, straight (this is for each hut; not all of these present choices). You will arrive at a hut with a switch inside it. Pull it to raise the gate blocking the top of the staircase. Return to the platform and go down the staircase, where you can unlock the lower gate and emerge on the ground level. Now redirect the water to the second elevator's generator (simply switch the direction of the water at the very first junction) and use the staircase to return to the second level. Now you can ride the elevator up to the third level. =============================================================================== MYST BOOK =============================================================================== The Myst Book is accessed via a third elevator located at the far end of the ground level. From the windmill, direct the water left, left, right. This will lead to a generator at a gap in the path. Pull the switch on the generator to raise a bridge crossing the gap. At the far end of the path you will find the elevator, as well as a second path leading to it. This path, however, also has a pipe which leads into the elevator's generator. Follow the second path and you will find another gap in both the walkway and the pipe. Turn the handle on the end of the pipe, however, to extend a section of pipe across the gap and connect the pipes. Now return to the first junction and direct the water through the pipes to the elevator: left, right, right, left. Finally, return to the elevator via the bridge and you can ride it up to a tiny compartment containing the Myst Book. =============================================================================== SUMMARY =============================================================================== red page: in drawer of desk beneath window in Sirrus's room blue page: on floor in Achenar's room torn note: in drawer under bed in Sirrus's room Myst Book: accessed via far elevator on ground level ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | F. FINISHING UP [V.F] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== THE FIFTH PAGE =============================================================================== When you return to Myst bearing the fifth page for one of the Books, go ahead and insert it as normal. Nothing unusual will happen, except that the message you receive will be longer and nearly clear of static. They will give you their version of what happened to them and their father, then explain that they need one more page and will give you instructions for retrieving it. They will also warn you not to touch a Green Book that is there as well, which they say is another Trap Book. =============================================================================== THE FIREPLACE =============================================================================== Following the brothers' instructions, enter the fireplace and press the red button to lower a wall in front of you. On the wall is a smooth gray surface that, when touched, will cause a small square to appear. Use this to enter in pattern 158 from the pattern book on the shelf, which looks like this: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ |##|##| | | | |##|##| |##|##|__|__|__|__|##|##| | |##|##| |##| |##|##| |__|##|##|__|##|__|##|##| |##| |##| | | |##|##| |##|__|##|__|__|__|##|##| |##| | |##| | |##|##| |##|__|__|##|__|__|##|##| |##|##|##| |##|##| | | |##|##|##|__|##|##|__|__| |##|##|##|##|##| |##| | |##|##|##|##|##|__|##|__| Then press the red button again, and the fireplace will rotate 180 degrees, revealing a shelf containing a red page, a blue page, and a green Book. =============================================================================== GREEN BOOK =============================================================================== Since both Sirrus and Achenar are wicked men who have both lied to you, you should do the thing they both told you not to do: open the Green Book. Inside, you will find Atrus, who is in a place called D'ni. He will tell you what really happened, and also that he is trapped there because Sirrus and Achenar removed one page from his Myst Linking Book. He needs you to find that page and bring it to him. =============================================================================== MARKER SWITCH VAULT =============================================================================== The missing page is located in the Marker Switch Vault that you learned about from the torn note. Following its instructions, make sure all eight Marker Switches are on, then turn the one at the dock off. The front panel of the switch will open, revealing a page inside. Take the page and return to the fireplace. Use the Green Book to travel to D'ni and rescue Atrus. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | G. RIME AGE [V.G] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// =============================================================================== ACCESSING RIME AGE =============================================================================== Atrus will drop the Rime Age journal on the floor of the library. In the back of it are several illustrations of the fore-chamber, and he has added to them. Go to the fore-chamber and enter 40 into the control panel. Now go to the back of the imager, where you'll find a second button. Press it, and the control panel will lower, revealing a brass panel behind it. The panel contains a diagram of the path to the rocket, with a button in the center of one of the circular platforms. Press it, and the ring surrounding it will rotate, so that its open end is facing to the left. Head towards the path and walk down around the side of it. You'll find that a doorway has appeared in the platform you rotated. Follow the path inside the doorway and you'll encounter a mechanical device. Enter the code Atrus wrote in the journal, 2735, into the device and it will ascend. Now go to the library, and you'll see that the central section of the floor has been raised, and that it contains the Rime Book. =============================================================================== UNFREEZING THE DOOR =============================================================================== Go outside and find the pipe containing the gas for the heater. Turn the handle to unblock the pipe and allow gas to flow into the heater. Now go back inside and press the button to light the heater. Finally, close the outside door. Soon the room will warm to the point that the ice surrounding the door will melt, allowing you to open it. =============================================================================== ROTATING THE ELEVATOR =============================================================================== After taking the elevator up to the top level, look through the rectangular openings in the side of the elevator car. On the wall behind one of them will be a button. Press it to rotate the elevator 180 degrees. You can now reach two new locations by using the elevator with it rotated. =============================================================================== CRYSTAL IMAGER =============================================================================== Touch the geodes to cycle through the various crystal shapes. Wave your hand over a crystal to change its color. By pressing the button on top of the projector on the Book, you can attempt to "link" to an Age. Find the note on the desk which contains a crystal combination. The first crystal consists of two spurs jutting out at sharp angles; the second is a vertical bar, the third consists of three vertical spikes; the fourth is a short diamond, and the fifth is made up of a thick bar that splits in two at the top. Then, make sure they're the correct colors: red, green, light blue, yellow, purple. Create this exact combination on the imager and you can view the Age of Riven, the Age where Atrus's father is currently trapped. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | H. MISTAKES [V.H] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// This subsection describes the various mistakes you can make in which you fail to free Atrus and become trapped forever. Note that none of these decisions are recommended. =============================================================================== FREE SIRRUS =============================================================================== If, instead of opening the Green Book, you return the final red page to Sirrus, completing the Red Book, you will link into the Red Book. You will be able to see the library through the linking window, so you will see Sirrus materialize in the library. By completing the Red Book, you have not only freed Sirrus, you have become trapped yourself! Upon finding himself free, Sirrus will revel in his freedom and your stupidity, having this to say to you: "Oh, yes! Yes! I'm free! Oh, thank you, my friend! My dear friend! You've done the right thing. You stupid fool! It looks like perhaps you're in the Book now. And what have we here? A page." With that, Sirrus will tear out one of the pages from the Book, and static will begin to cloud your view. "Oh, no! I hope you enjoy your new home as much as I enjoyed it." Sirrus will rip out another page, and will continue to tear them out as he taunts you, causing the static to increase. "There. I can't see you. You're getting less clear. I hope you're into books. The library's just the same as I left it. Oh, Achenar ... Goodbye ... " At this point, Sirrus will have removed six pages from the Red Book, meaning that all you can see is static, which will then fade into blackness. You are now trapped in the Red Book, and you will a very long time to reflect on your poor decision, since the odds of Sirrus having a change of heart seem very slim. =============================================================================== FREE ACHENAR =============================================================================== If you opt to retrieve the final blue page from the fireplace and place it in the Blue Book, you will suddenly link into the Blue Book, reappearing in a black void. Through the linking window you can see the library, and will have a clear view of Achenar linking into it. When he realizes that he is free, Achenar will exclaim, amidst his maniacal laughter and giggling, "Oh, yes! I'm free! Oh! I feel alive! And how do you feel, my friend? Oh! And what have we here? Perhaps the pages you worked so hard for?" Then, Achenar will tear out one of the blue pages, which will cause the image to flicker with static. "Whoops! Oh, yes! Oh! Perhaps you're seeing the world from my point of view. Yes! Oh!" Achenar will then tear out another page, and will continue to tear out more, causing the image to gradually fill with more and more static. "Ooo! Sirrus... Where's my brother? Oh, yes! Oh! Maybe someone will rescue you someday. You lose!" After that, the image will be totally filled with static, and Achenar will close the Book. You will now be left alone with your thoughts, thoughts of how you set loose an insane murderer, and odds are you will be left with them for a very, very long time. =============================================================================== LINK TO D'NI WITHOUT THE WHITE PAGE =============================================================================== If you ignore Atrus's warnings and link to D'ni before you find the white page, Atrus will be very, very disappointed with you. When you arrive in D'ni, he will respond to you like this: "Ah, My friend, you've returned. We meet face to face. And the page, did you bring the page? You didn't bring the page. You didn't bring the page. What kind of fool are you? Oh! Did you not take my warning seriously? Welcome to D'ni. You and I will live here, forever." At which point Atrus will turn back to the book on his desk, disgusted with your foolhardy decision. You, meanwhile, will be forced to keep Atrus company indefinitely, realizing that you could have freed him from this prison, but instead chose to join him in it. SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************* SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER***SPACER* _____ _____ | | | | | ### |================================================================== | | ### | VI. NECESSARY ODDS AND ENDS [VI] | | |================================================================== |_____|_____| I know nobody reads this stuff, but I have to put it in here. If you're considering downloading, printing, selling, or posting this guide, though, I *strongly* advise you to read the copyright notice below. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | A. CREATIVE COMMONS INFO [VI.A] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (CC) Some rights reserved. This guide is by Steven Reeves. It is released under a Creative Commons license: the Creative Commons deed can be viewed here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ Here's what you can and can't do with my guide (this is taken from the deed linked to above): You are free: * to Share � to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. Under the following conditions: * Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). * Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. * No Derivative Works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. * For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/). * Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. * Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights. So basically, feel free to copy, download, print, email, or do whatever you want with this guide, so long as you don't sell it (I didn't get paid anything to write this, so I don't see why you should just for making copies of it), change it, or take my name off of it. If you have any questions about anything here, email me at email@example.com. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | B. CREDITS [VI.B] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// o Cyan Worlds, for creating, er, linking to, such immersive, engaging worlds. Keep it up! o Riven, MYST, and Cyan are registered trademarks of Cyan Worlds, Inc. o "Official Riven: The Sequel to Myst Hints and Solutions" and uhs-hints.com for general inspiration on the format of the Hints section. o Admiral's FAQ, http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/myst_b.txt, for general inspiration of the overall structure for the FAQ. o www.dnidesk.com, for being an invaluable reference source for speech and journal transcripts. o Cassie (and someone else whose name I've misplaced), for a tip on how to set the sliders in the spaceship. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | C. CONTACT INFO [VI.C] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Questions? Comments? Complaints? Call toll-free at firstname.lastname@example.com! Qualified representatives are standing by to take your call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! I am happy to answer all intelligent, legible questions and would be glad to receive comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism. I will not reply to questions or comments that are irrelevant, illegible, or rude. Also, check the guide first before asking gameplay questions. I'm pretty sure I've covered everything gameplay-related somewhere in this guide, so check before you email. If, after checking, you find that I have overlooked something or have not made something clear enough, please email me with your problem and I will be happy to help you and update the appropriate section of the guide. I would be especially interested to receive comments regarding the hints section. Was it helpful? Could you find your question easily? I would appreciate any suggestions to improve the hints section. Also, I am not a tech support center. Do not email me asking why your game freezes, refuses to install, crashes, etc. I also do not like spam. I have yet to meet one person who does. Do not send any to me. ____ | |\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ | | D. VERSION HISTORY [VI.D] |____|///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// I don't know why anyone else would be interested in this, so I stuck it at the very bottom where nobody will see it. If you've taken the time to read all the way down to here, way to go. You get a gold star. Also, I know I have changed the version numbering system again, but I am simply trying to reflect the complete history of this walkthrough, which goes back several years before it was posted on GameFAQs. 1.00 10/02/1999 This is the date I completed my very first Myst walkthrough, which can still be read in a green notebook at my house. 2.00 August 2002 This is a completely rewritten version of the walkthrough, customized for realMyst, and created on our computer using Microsoft Works. 2.10 12/23/2004 This is the date that this file was completed and subsequently posted on GameFAQs. This file consists of the version 2.00 walkthrough converted to .txt format, with sections for hints, solutions, and everything else in this file added, all using Notepad. 2.20 01/15/2005 For this update, I have revised the walkthrough section, and I believe the writing quality has been improved substantially. I also made a few other minor changes, such as adding a Version History subsection, eliminating the journal subsections from the walkthrough, including complete transcripts of the messages, and a few other details. 2.21 04/05/2005 This update incorporates a number of minor changes, including some small rewordings of the copyright notice and contact info, placing contact info at the top of the file, adding spacers between the hints, walkthrough, and solutions sections to avoid accidental spoilers, and renumbering the version history (again. Sorry!). 2.22 03/17/2007 Added more detail on using the combination in Atrus's journal with the imager on Rime, incorporated a tip from Cassie on setting the sliders in the spaceship, and changed the copyright info to put the guide under a Creative Commons license. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Congratulations, you've reached the end of the guide. I thought I'd put something enriching down here for you people who made it all the way to the very end: it's the derivation of the Quadratic Formula. Enjoy! 0 = ax^2 + bx + c 0 = x^2 + bx/a + c/a 0 = x^2 + bx/a + (b/2a)^2 + c/a - (b/2a)^2 0 = x^2 + bx/a + b^2/4a^2 + c/a - b^2/4a^2 0 = (x + b/2a)^2 + c/a - b^2/4a^2 b^2/4a^2 - c/a = (x + b/2a)^2 (b^2 - 4ac)/4a^2 = (x + b/2a)^2 +-((b^2 - 4ac)/4a^2)^(1/2) = x + b/2a +-(b^2 - 4ac)^(1/2)/2a = x + b/2a -b/2a +- (b^2 - 4ac)^(1/2)/2a = x (-b +- (b^2 - 4ac)^(1/2))/2a = x